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Fort Worth-based Metals Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: MTAL.U) on Thursday announced that it had agreed to purchase Glencore’s CSA Copper Mine in Australia for $1.1 billion, according to a news release.
"The acquisition of CSA represents a strong strategic fit for MAC,” says CEO Mick McMullen in a statement. “Our management team’s operational expertise, understanding of regional operations and relationships with local stakeholders uniquely position us to identify and realize the full potential value of the asset. CSA also provides us with an ideal cornerstone asset with which to establish a high-quality, mid-tier base metals portfolio.”
CSA is a producing, high-grade, long-life, underground copper mine located in the Tier 1 mining jurisdiction of western New South Wales. CSA has been in operation since 1967 and has a strong ESG — Environmental, Social, and Governance — track record.
CSA stands for Cornish, Scottish, and Australia after the nationalities of its first owners. At a little more than a mile deep, it is the second-deepest copper mine in Australia.
“We believe that copper has favorable fundamentals that will continue to support an elevated copper price," McMullen says. "Copper is expected to play a key role in the global energy transition 'megatrend,' with approximately 1 million [metric tons] per annum of new supply required from 2024 onwards in order to meet the surging demand forecast. With few new projects globally in the pipeline, increasing permitting issues and jurisdictional risk, and declining copper grades across the industry, we believe that there are significant challenges ahead to close the projected supply deficit.”