China's MMG to buy world's biggest copper mine

China's MMG announced on Monday that it has inked an agreement to buy Glencore Xstrata's copper mine project Las Bambas in Peru for 5.85 billion U.S. dollars. The deal, marking the largest outbound metal mining purchase by a Chinese enterprise, will be finished through a joint venture formed by MMG, Guoxin International Investment Corporation and CITIC Metal Co., MMG said. MMG is a subsidiary of China's leading mining company, China Minmetals Corporation, which is likely to squeeze into the global top 10 copper producers list after the acquisition. Situated in south Peru's Apurimac region, the Las Bambas project is the world's biggest copper mine under construction and is due to start production next year. It could produce 450,000 tonnes of copper concentrate in the first five years after it reaches full capacity. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014, subject to approvals by the governments of both sides and shareholders of MMG. MMG, Guoxin International Investment Corporation and CITIC Metal Co. own 62.5 percent, 22.5 percent and 15 percent of the joint venture respectively. Zhou Zhongshu, president of China Minmetals Corporation, said the acquisition is in line with the corporation's long-term strategy, as it can optimize its assets portfolio and fit into the current business.