OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX:OZL) has inked a $250 million deal to buy the Carrapateena copper-gold project in South Australia from major shareholders Rudy Gomez (58 per cent), Teck Australia Pty Ltd (34 per cent), and various others (8 per cent).
The miner says it will pay an immediate $10 million deposit for the acquisition, with the remaining $240 million to be taken from the company’s current cash resources when the asset is transferred.
Oz Minerals has a nearby operation at Prominent Hill which the company believes will offer development, operations, logistics and management synergies.
Oz Minerals describes the Carrapateena project as of the largest underdeveloped copper projects in Australia, and says it has the potential to producer copper at between 50,000 and 150,000 tonnes per annum for a significant mine life.
In the 2010 calendar year OZ Minerals posted a turnaround full year net profit of $586.9 million, after booking a loss the year before.
