Rio Tinto unloads US nickel-copper mine for $ 325 million

Mining News  |  2013-06-13 05:07:02   |   By

Lundin Mining has reached an agreement with Rio Tinto to buy the US based Eagle Mine for $325 million

WASHINGTON (Scrap Monster) : Lundin Mining has reached an agreement with Rio Tinto to buy the US based Eagle Mine for $325 million.

Rio Tinto discovered the Michigan based nickel/copper mine in early 2002, the feasibility study of which was completed in five years. The company commenced the construction of the mine in 2010 and expects to start production by 2014 end.

Rio Tinto has already invested around $355 million in the mine. Toronto based Lundin Mining will invest another $400 million in order to bring Eagle Mine to production. The construction of the mine is almost half-complete. The mine is expected to produce 300 million pounds of nickel, 250 million pounds of copper and small amounts of other metals over its seven to eight year productive life.

The sale of the mine is considered to be part of Rio Tinto’s divestment plans.

Lundin Mining Corporation is a diversified base metals mining company with operations in Portugal, Sweden and Spain, producing copper, zinc, lead and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a 24% equity stake in the world-class Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Kokkola cobalt refinery located in Finland.