The acquisition could help control the environmental problems of the Molejón mine in the neighboring and much larger Cobre Panama project.
The hostile bid by Inmet Mining Corp. to Petaquilla Minerals Ltd. seems to be more than the simple acquisition of a mine adjacent to its huge gold and copper mine, the Cobre Panama project.
Greg Barnes, an analyst at TD Securities in Toronto, believes that the proposed $112 million acquisition could be an example of preventive damage limitation.
The mining company agreed to provide gold and silver at $400 and $6 per ounce respectively, to Franco Nevada, which will in return provide funding of $1 billion.
Franco-Nevada Corporation and Inmet Mining Corporation announced the terms of an agreement for the supply of precious metals from the flows of the Cobre Panama copper project in Panama which is under construction.
After closing the bond issuance with $1.5 billion, Inmet Mining has announced that it has $6.2 billion funding available, to cover the cost of the mine in Donoso, Panama.
The board of Inmet Mining, parent company of Minera Panama, has given permission for the construction of a copper mine in Donoso, Colon province.
Having gathered enough funding, Inmet Mining said it will proceed with building the mining project, in which it owns 80% of the shares. The remaining 20% is owned by the South Korean government consortium formed by Korea Resources Corp. and LS-Nikko Copper Inc. who injected $1.4 billion.
The Canadian owned mining company owner is not looking for more equity partners, but will instead fund development of the mine by issuing bonds.
The reduction of risks to the project has enabled it to seek finance by issuance of debt, whose principal will mature in 2020. This will not alter, in principle, the current composition of capital, of which 80% is owned by Inmet Mining Corp.
The World Bank will not participate in the financing of Minera Panama, even though the company has announced it will operate under the standards of the International Finance Corporation.
Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Inmet Mining, wants to gain new partners to capitalize on the copper mine that it operates in the province of Colon, with an investment of $4.32 billion.
The National Environmental Authority has approved an environmental impact study by the Canadian company Minera de Panamá, S.A., but requires the company to hold a deposit or guarantee for future environmental damage.
Minera de Panama, SA aims to draw some 250 thousand tons of copper per year, and also extract molybdenum, gold and silver, reaching an annual turnover of almost $2 billion starting from 2016.
The future area of operations has been declared a protected area and the Panamanian authorities have imposed new requirements.
Inmet Mining Corporation, owner of Minera Panama, will have to meet new requirements in order to start building a copper mine in Donoso, Colon province, reported the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), as revealed by the Prensa Latina news agency.
Inmet Mining Corp. has announced the sale of 20% of its copper mining project in Panama for $155 million.
The buyer is Korea Panama Mining Corporation (KPMC), a holding company owned by the South Korean KS-Nikko Copper and the state run South Korean company Korean Resources Corporation.
The amount represents 20% of development costs of the mine up to October 2009 when the purchase option between Inmet and KPMC was signed.
A consortium made up of the state company Kores and LS-Nikko Cobre Inc. has announced the start of the operations in the Cobre Panama mining project in the first half of the year.
The announcement by state-run Korea Resources Corporation comes a few days after the approval by Panama’s National Environmental Authority, of the development plans for the mines in the Cobre Panama project.
The approval of the Environmental and Social Impact study is an important step that enables the entry of other investors into the project.
Inmet Mining Corporation announced that the National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM in Spanish) approved on December 28, 2011, a Study for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) necessary for the development of the copper mining project ‘Cobre Panama’, which includies mining operations and connected infrastructure, a port facility and a coal-fired power plant.
The company, a subsidiary of the Inmet Mining Corporation, requires local and international capital in order to develop the mining project.
The $5,000 million that Minera Panamá plans to raise for the construction of an open pit copper mine, will be negotiated with both Panamanian and foreign banks.
Company representatives said that given the magnitude of the project they will need to be financed jointly by several entities.
Calibre Mining Corp. and B2Gold and have begun the second phase of exploration of the Primavera gold and copper mine.
In a press release, Calibre explained that this phase of exploration has an available budget $441,000, and that they will focus on three areas that show a potential of up to 1.48 grams of gold per ton.
Calibre will act as the project operator, via a purchase option agreement with B2Gold, which could leave them with 51% of concessions in the Borosi area subject to financing $8.32 million worth of costs by June 2014.
Inmet's Board of Directors have approved the work plan for the mining project.
After several months of analysis, the Canadian company Inmet, one of the biggest players in the mining industry, will finally begin implementing the plan of work in the copper mine in Panama.
However, this plan is subject to certain milestones that must be fulfilled as the project progresses.
The Canadian company Inmet will define the participation of new partners for its mining project in mid 2012.
The company engaged in the exploration and extraction of minerals, led by its copper mining project in Panama, formerly known as Project Petaquilla, is examining options for getting additional capital and partners to develop the project.
Company representatives said that one option is to sell part of the participation in the project (between 40% and 60%) to a company that would be actively involved, but also under consideration is the possibility of assigning only 20% to a company who would act as a silent investor, leaving Inmet the majority share and operational control of the project.