- More than 20 companies have expressed an interest in bidding on the $2B Michiquillay copper project in Peru in an auction due to take place on Dec. 20, the government says.
- Michiquillay is the first sizable mineral deposit to be offered up in a public auction in more than a decade in Peru, the world's second biggest copper producer, and the government says the auction date is being pushed back from the originally scheduled Nov. 15 to give more time for companies to sign up to take part, given the volume of interest.
- The companies that have expressed interest in the project are not named, but Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) and Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN) have said they were evaluating bids.
- Anglo American (LON:AAL) previously was awarded the rights to develop Michiquillay but it returned its contract to Peru in 2014 due to capital constraints; it had estimated that the project would produce ~200K metric tons/year of copper once developed.
- Now read: Copper Moves Above The /Pound Level
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