Lundin looks for mining opportunities
Expansion; 'Many juniors out there' ready for acquisition
Peter Koven, Financial Post
Published: Saturday, June 07, 2008
Related Topics
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Lundin Mining Corporation
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With his own house nearly back in order, Lukas Lundin is looking forward to adding more companies to his mining empire. And with the myriad problems facing junior firms these days, he expects to have plenty of opportunities to do it.
"There are many juniors out there that have actually drilled ore bodies up and have difficulty getting it to the next stage. They can't get financing and don't have the construction team to do it," Mr. Lundin, 49, said in an interview in Toronto. The Swedish-born, Vancouver-based entrepreneur looks forward to playing that role for them.
He plans to start looking at those acquisitions for Lundin Mining Corp. this fall, by which point the company should be through its "growing pains" from past takeovers.
Ironically, he also hopes to remove investments from Lundin Mining's parent company, which is cluttered with junior miners in politically wild jurisdictions.
It is all great news for the investment bankers, who have received plenty of business from Mr. Lundin in the past and can expect much more in the next couple of years.
"They call me all the time. It never stops. They show you the same deal over and over in 10 different ways," he said with a laugh.
Lundin Mining vaulted into a mid-tier base metal producer last year after spending more than $4-billion on three big acquisitions. But the stock has sputtered in the past 12 months as the price of zinc dropped and the company took writedowns and replaced its chief executive.
But Mr. Lundin, who enjoys motorcycle excursions across Asia and Africa in his spare time, is not too worried. He thinks his company is through most of the growing pains, and should have the whole operation running smoothly in the next few months.
After that, there will be plenty of opportunities for bolt-on acquisitions. Share prices of junior companies have collapsed during the credit crisis, which makes Mr.
Lundin confident he can buy them and push their projects to production. He hopes to double Lundin Mining's market value to $6-billion in the next two years. |
