OZ Minerals has finalised its asset sale with China’s Minmetals, paying down the debts that the company had been struggling to meet for nearly six months, OZ announced in a statement.
According to OZ Minerals, total proceeds from the sale totaled US$1.354 billion, allowing the company to not only pay its debts, but also leaving it with a cash balance of more than US$575 million.
“We have now retired all of our bank loan facilities, which has been a critical issue for the company for more than six months,” OZ Minerals chairman Barry Cusack said.
The completed sale leaves OZ Minerals in a positive position looking at the future, Cusack said.
“We have the new Prominent Hill copper-gold operation in South Australia, a rejuvenated balance sheet with a substantial cash balance and we are now also beginning to accrue revenue from the Prominent Hill mine,” he said.
“OZ Minerals is now smaller and more focussed in terms of its operations but is in a significantly enhanced financial position.”
The finalisation of the sale will also see the official launch of Minmetals’ wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia, MMG (Minerals and Mining Group).
MMG will manage the Australian-based assets Minmetals purchased from OZ Minerals.
The official MMG launch will be held today at OZ Minerals’ Melbourne head office.
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