Gina Rinehart's private company, Hancock Prospecting Ltd., will pay Titan Minerals Ltd. up to US$120 million for drilling and exploration work that would give it 80%the Linderos project in Ecuador, the Sydney-listed company said in a statement on Thursday. It will pay an initial $2 million for a 5% stake, he said.
The deal follows Hancock's purchase of a 49% stake in a state mining company last month for $120 million, giving him six mining concessions in northern Ecuador, according to the West Australian newspaper. The strategy finds Rinehart expanding its portfolio in a nation plagued by turmoil, including crippling energy shortages and drought.
Hancock “clearly sees the opportunity for large-scale copper, both at the Linderos Copper Project and in Ecuador, an emerging mining jurisdiction,” Titan CEO Melanie Leighton said in the statement.
Over the past year, Rinehart has diversified its mining portfolio, based on huge iron ore projects in Western Australia, into lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals. In recent days, it bought a stake close to 6% in Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.
