Altona Mining has received Foreign Investment Review Board approval for a subsidiary of Chinese company Sichuan Railway Investment Group to invest more than $US200 million to set up its Cloncurry copper project in Queensland.
Sichuan Railway, which is a business backed by the Sichuan provincial government, owns 60 per cent of vehicle China Sichuan International Investment Company, with the remaining portions controlled by two other state-owned enterprises from Sichuan province.
That vehicle will buy a 66 per cent stake of joint venture company Roseby Copper for $US213 million, with Altona to hold the remaining 34 per cent slice and contributing up to $US25 million.
The approval is subject to conditions that were not disclosed in the company’s ASX release.
The Cloncurry project is located east of Mt Isa and expected to produce 38,000 tonnes of copper and 17,200 ounces of gold annually with a 13-year mine life.
It should cost about $294 million, including contingencies, Altona estimated.
Today’s approval comes three months after the Chinese state-owned assets regulator gave the investment the tick, while Cloncurry and Sichuan first came to an agreement in June.
The terms of that agremeent were extended in September to allow more time for completion of conditions precedent, such as regulatory approval.
Shares in Altona fell 3.5 per cent to 14 cents each at the time of writing.
Copper is selling for around $US2.50 per pound, up around a quarter from a long term low of around $US2 per pound last year.
