Mining Technology

Glencore and major carmakers back $1bn nickel and copper mines in Brazil

Both mines operate using hydropower for production and are considering expansion projects.

Mining company Glencore, along with Stellantis and Volkswagen’s battery unit PowerGo, have agreed to back a $1bn deal by special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ACG Acquisition Company to purchase two Brazilian mines, ACG said in an announcement on Monday.

The UK-listed SPAC will buy a nickel sulphide mine in Santa Rita and a copper mine in Serrote from private equity funds. Both mines operate using hydropower for production and are already considering expansion projects. ACG has hired Standard Chartered and Citigroup on the sale.

According to the statement, refinement of mined nickel sulphide will take place at Glencore’s refineries in Western Europe and North America once the sale has been finalised. The final product will then be used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries by Stellantis and PowerGo, along with several other manufacturers.

Glencore plans to invest $100m in ACG equity. Stellantis will provide an equity investment of the same amount, and PowerGo will make a $100m nickel prepayment. Mining investment fund La Mancha Resource Capital will also contribute a £100m in equity.

During the acquisition, ACG will be renamed to ACG Electric Metals and issue new shares, making Glencore, Stellantis and La Mancha Resource Capital owners of 51% of the company, leaving a 49% share up for grabs, ACG chief executive Artem Volynets told Reuters.

The deal "will establish ACG Electric Metals as a premier supplier of critical metals into the Western EV value chain," Volynets said in the statement.

Only a small handful of other SPAC deals have taken place within the mining industry so far, one of which includes an acquisition of a Glencore-owned mine by New York listed Metals Acquisition Corporation.

In April, Stellantis agreed a deal with Australia-based miner Alliance Nickel for EV battery minerals. Through the deal, Alliance will provide approximately 154,000 tonnes of nickel and 11,000 tonnes of cobalt to Stellantis from its NiWest mining project in Western Australia over the next five years. This is equal to roughly 40% of the mine’s predicted total output for the five-year period.