Anglo American would put up MantoVerde for sale
The objective of the multinational would be to divest its less profitable assets. The production of that task fell 13% in the first half.
Mantoverde oxide cathodes producer located in the Atacama Region and owned by Anglo American, would be part of the overall plan of disposal nine sites would boost the company.
Mark Cutifani, CEO of the mining company would be reviewing its assets in order to get rid of those less profitable and he would soon announce the decision, according to Standard Bank Group said.
According to information published by Bloomberg, Anglo has said it aims to improve the return on equity at least 15% by 2016, compared to 8% recorded last year. Meanwhile, Cutifani has said he would consider selling assets that drive down their results.
While the company said it would not comment on market speculation, from the investment bank say it is likely that the divestment program is announced soon.
Among the assets up for sale, two would be in Australia, three in SouthAfrica, one in Canada, two in Brazil and one in Chile.
Anglo published its results, increasing by 12% its fine copper production in the first half compared to the same period of 2013. This, by the good performance of Los Bronces and Collahuasi, which have 44% ownership.
However, in other tasks the results were not as positive. El Soldado’s production decreased 38%; Mantos Blancos, 8%, and Mantoverde, 13%. This is explained by lower ore grades, they say. According to industry estimates, the latter site would close in 2018.
10% fell underlying operating profit (profit before taxes and operating expenses) of the Anglo American group globally, affected by lower commodity prices and some strikes.-
Source: El Mercurio
