Chilean state-owned miner Codelco has enlisted Carey in Santiago and Brazilian outfit Machado Meyer Advogados to formally sign a joint mining agreement with UK-headquartered group Anglo American, through which they will jointly develop and operate two adjacent copper mines in central Chile.
Anglo American relied on Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Chile) for the deal.
Machado Meyer guided Codelco on Brazilian antitrust and competition aspects of the deal, including the merger control filing before Brazil’s competition watchdog, CADE.
Latin Lawyer understands that international firm Clifford Chance LLP advised Codelco too, while Anglo American called on Latham & Watkins LLP and Chile’s Fischer y Cía, but could not confirm these details before publication.
The agreement was signed on 23 June for an undisclosed amount, over a year after the two mining groups signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last February.
Closing is expected in 2030, pending environmental permits and other customary conditions.
Under the 21-year plan, Codelco and Anglo American will jointly operate their adjacent Andina and Los Bronces copper mines, located on the border of Chile’s Santiago Metropolitan and Valparaíso regions, with operations set to begin in 2030.
The plan is expected to unlock 2.7 million tonnes of additional copper and up to US$5 billion in revenue, without significant new investment. Both companies will retain ownership of their respective assets throughout the agreement’s duration.
Codelco has been extremely active in the local natural resources market as of late. In December, for example, it called on Carey, as well as international firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Linklaters, to ink a lithium joint venture with local chemicals group SQM – a deal that represented Chile’s largest-ever public-private partnership (PPP) to date. SQM enlisted Claro & Cía for that deal.
Counsel to Anglo American
Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Chile)
Partner Carlos Alberto Reyes, Jerónimo Carcelén, Felipe Ossa, Mario Fava and José Luis Lara, counsel Mario Mozó and associates Fernando Bustos, Juan Esteban Laval, Matías Larroulet, Macarena Gaitán, José Antonio Rodríguez, and Patricio Balmaceda in Santiago
