BHP Billiton and Teck Resources are reportedly in the final bidding round to acquire a stake in Barrick Gold’s Zaldivar copper mine in Chile, worth more than $1.5bn.
In March, the Canadian mining company announced the sale of the mine in a bid to reduce its overall debt by at least $3bn this year.
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According to Bloomberg, Barrick is seeking a buyer for 50% of the Zaldivar copper mine.
There are some companies that are interested in buying the whole asset, sources familiar with the matter said.
Sources said that a final decision on the final winner may be announced in July.
Reuters quoted three sources with knowledge of the matter saying that X2 Resources, which bid for the stake, failed to reach the final bidding round as it was outbid in the initial round of the sale process.
Located in the Andean Precordillera in region II of northern Chile, the Zaldívar open-pit, heap-leach copper mine lies at an average elevation of 3,000m.
In 2014, the mine produced 222 million pounds of copper, with probable copper reserves standing at 5.558 billion pounds on 31 December 2014.
