Koreans Take Stake in Panama Copper Project

The Korea Panama Mining Corporation (KPMC) has agreed to acquire a 20% stake in the Cobre Panama project, currently run by Canada’s Inmet Mining. KPMC, a joint venture between LS-Nikko Copper and the Korean Resources Corporation, acted under an option agreement to acquire the stake for $155m, leaving Inmet in control of 80% of the venture, Inmet says. The acquisition price reflected KPMC’s historical development costs incurred up until the option agreement date and its share of development costs above $150m. Officials at Inmet could not immediately comment on the valuation details of the deal or the potential advisors involved. Following the deal, KPMC will continue to finance its share of the development costs. KPMC and Minera Panama, the owner of the Cobre Panama copper venture, in turn will put together an offtake agreement that will allow KPMC to purchase a 20% share of Minera Panama’s concentrates production.