$450 Million Loans For Cerro Verde

Phelps Dodge Corp, which owns Peru’s third-largest copper mine, Cerro Verde, has said it has secured loans of $450 million to help with its expansion plans for the mine. The US company said it may replace $90 million of the financing with a bond sale in Peru. This follows a decision late last week by Cerro Verde shareholders to approve issuing bonds for up to $250 million. Phelps Dodge expects to triple annual production to 300,000 metric tons following expansion.