China eyes stake in Congo copper mine

MMG, the publicly traded unit of China’s biggest state-owned metals trader, is in talks to buy a majority stake in Freeport-McMoRan’s copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to The South China Morning Post. Freeport, the biggest publicly traded copper miner, was considering a sale of its 56% stake in the Tenke Fungurume asset, which may fetch more than US$2 billion. Helped by its state-owned parent China Minmetals’ access to state-backed financing, MMG acquired the Kinsevere copper project in Congo for US$1.36 billion in early 2012. It also bought the partially developed Las Bambas copper project in Peru for around US$7 billion in August 2014.