Vedanta buys Anglo American zinc for $1.34 bn

Global mining major Vedanta Resources on Monday announced the acquisition of Anglo American’s zinc assets for $1.34 billion (approx Rs 6,021 crore). The acquisition will be done by its group company Hindustan Zinc Ltd that will make Vedanta world’s largest zinc producer.

Global mining major Vedanta Resources on Monday announced the acquisition of Anglo American’s zinc assets for $1.34 billion (approx Rs 6,021 crore). The acquisition will be done by its group company Hindustan Zinc Ltd that will make Vedanta world’s largest zinc producer.

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“These assets complement Vedanta’s existing portfolio, creating the largest zinc and lead producer in the world,” said Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Resources. “We intend to rapidly develop Gamsberg, one of the largest high quality zinc projects in the world, leveraging our world-class large project development expertise.”

Anglo American zinc’s assets include Skorpion mine in Namibia, Lisheen mine in Ireland and the 74 per cent owned Black Mountain Mining, which includes the Black Mountain mine and Gamsberg project in South Africa. Gamsberg is one of world’s largest undeveloped zinc deposits with a resource of 186 mt. Of the total consideration, $698 million relates to the Skorpion mine, $308 million to the Lisheen and $332 million to Black Mountain Mining. The deal is being funded entirely through Vedanta’s cash resources that amounted $7.2 billion (Rs 32,400 crore).