is buying the piece of an Argentine copper and gold project it didn’t already own for almost half a billion dollars, firming up its footing in critical minerals assets, as the Swiss mining and commodity trading giant engages with Teck Resources Ltd.Glencore on Monday said it intends to buy the 56.2 per cent stake in the MARA project it didn’t already own from Pan American Silver Corp.
After Teck failed in its plan to spin off its own coal business into a separated publicly traded unit, it entered talks with several parties interested in buying its coal division only, including Glencore. Apart from Glencore, Teck is also fielding offers from a consortium led by mining veteran Pierre Lassonde, Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. and India’s JSW Steel.
However, even if Glencore eventually reaches an agreement with Teck, the deal would have to be approved by the federal government after it conducts a national security review.Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in a letter to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade in April, wrote: “We need companies like Teck here in Canada.