Codelco exercises Anglo option
Chile’s state copper giant Codelco, the world’s top copper producer, said yesterday it had exercised its disputed option to buy a 49 per cent stake in global miner Anglo American’s southern Chilean properties. Codelco is locked in a legal dispute over the option with Anglo, which surprised Codelco and investors last year by announcing it had sold a 24.5 per cent stake in the assets to Japan’s Mitsubishi. The move effectively reduced Codelco’s potential stake by half. Codelco viewed Anglo’s move as a snub, and says it still has the right to buy a 49 per cent stake, saying the price was around $6bn (£3bn).