First Quantum in talks to sell portion of Zambian copper assets to Jiangxi Copper

摘要

First Quantum, owner of Kansanshi copper mine, is in discussions to sell part of its stake in Zambian copper assets to leading Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper, the miner said on Monday September 23. The Toronto-listed miner said the potential sale of a minority interest in its Zambian copper asset is ongoing and no transaction has been agreed at this stage. It did not disclose which asset is involved in the discussion. Core assets of First Quantum include Kansanshi, the biggest copper mine in Africa. It is 80%-owned by a subsidiary of First Quantum and 20%-owned by the Zambian government. The Kansanshi has a copper production capacity of 340,000 tonnes per year. From this capacity, Kansanshi produces 300,000 tonnes of copper metal annually, much of which are high quality 98-99% blister copper, an intermediate product used for refined copper production.