Hudbay buying MMC’s 25% stake in B.C. copper mine
Hudbay Minerals Inc. [HBM-TSX, NYSE] said it has entered into an agreement with Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (MMC) of Japan to acquire MMC’s 25% interest in the Copper Mountain Mine in British Columbia. That will leave Hudbay with 100% ownership of the asset.
Hudbay has agreed to pay US$4.5 million in upfront cash. and up to US$39.75 million in deferred and contingent cash payments. In addition, HudBay will be solely responsible to settle any of Copper Mountain’s outstanding obligations, including the intercompany loan owing to HudBay, of which 25% represents approximately US$104 million.
Additionally, the company has affirmed its 2025 production guidance. Looking out to 2026 and 2027, 2026 numbers are approximately 10% lower than what was forecast in the 3.0-year guide this time last year.
On Thursday, the shares eased 0.52% or $0.06 to $11.42. Hudbay shares are trading in a 52-week range of $14.33 and $9.08.
Hudbay’s operating portfolio includes the Constancia mine in Cusco (Peru), the Snow Lake operations in Manitoba and the Copper Mountain mine in B.C. Copper is the primary metal produced by the company, which is complemented by meaningful amounts of gold. The company’s growth pipeline includes the Copper World project in Arizona, the Mason project in Nevada, and the Llaguen project in La Libertad, Peru.
Hudbay said its copper production over the next three years is expected to average 144,000 tonnes, maintaining stable production levels from 2024. Consolidated copper production of 161,000 tonnes is expected in 2027, representing a 17% increase from 2024 and reflects the benefits of completion of the optimization efforts at Copper Mountain.
Ccnsolidated gold production is expected to average 253,000 ounces per year over the next three years, reflecting continued strong performance in Manitoba and a contribution from the Pampacancha high grade gold zones in Peru in 2025.
Constancia’s expected mine life is maintained until 2041 with stable average annual production of over 88,000 tonnes expected over the next three years, in spite of the depletion of Pampacancha in late 2025.
Copper Mountain’s expected mine life is maintained until 2043 with average annual copper production of 44,000 tonnes expected over the next three years, including 60,000 tonnes in 2027, a 127% increase from 2024. By announcing an accretive transaction of consolidate a 100% interest in Copper Mountain, further increases Hudbay’s exposure to a long-life, high-quality copper asset in a tier-1 mining jurisdiction and results in a 200% increase in attributable copper production from Copper Mountain in 2027 compared to 2024.
Last year, Hudbay announced the results of an enhanced pre-feasibility (PFS) study for Phase 1 of its 100%-owned Copper World, copper-molybdenum-silver deposit in Arizona. Feasibility studies are underway at the fully-permitted Copper World project.