South32 and Anglo American share a 60:40 split, respectively, in the Samancor manganese joint venture (JV) which spans operations in Australia and South Africa.
South32 chief executive officer Graham Kerr told Reuters that it would be open to buying out Anglo’s stake in Samancor “at the right price”, highlighting “that we know them (the Samancor operations) better than anyone else”.
The major miner has long valued mergers and acquisitions as a key growth lever, with copper a key commodity of interest for the company.
South32 mines copper from its the Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile, while the company is also involved in earn-in agreements with two emerging copper exploration projects in Argentina – Chita Valley and Don Julio.
Kerr said South32 “would like … another operation in copper and zinc, and another shovel-ready project”.
A new zinc operation would accompany South32’s Hermosa project in Arizona, US, which includes the Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit and the Clark manganese-zinc-silver oxide deposit.
Construction of Taylor is underway, with first production expected in the second half of the 2026–27 financial year. The mine will have an operating life of about 28 years.
The company was recently hit by the suspension of its GEMCO manganese operations (part of the Samancor JV) on Groote Eylandt in Northern Territory after the site was ravaged by Tropical Cyclone Megan.
On March 16–17, Groote Eylandt experienced record rainfall of 68mm and the second strongest wind gusts in the past 20 years.
GEMCO will remain out of action until 2025 as South32 focuses on re-establishing critical services and dewatering targeted mining pits.
Despite its recent troubles, South32’s share price has climbed more than 22 per cent across the last six months. The company was trading at $3.85 per share at close on May 23.
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