Rio Tinto steps up hunt for copper assets with McEwen JV, binding deal with Turquoise Hill

摘要

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) made headway on adding to its copper portfolio in early September: In the same week, Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX: TQR) agreed to a sweetened takeover offer from the major, and Rio also signed a deal with McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX) subsidiary McEwen Copper to option up to 60% of its Elder Creek project in Nevada. The Turquoise Hill acquisition will give Rio a direct majority stake in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's largest known copper and gold deposits. Rio, which already holds a 51% interest in Turquoise Hill, signed a US$3.3-billion binding agreement to purchase the 49% of the company it doesn't already own.