Sandfire's purchase of 100% of the Matsa mining complex, which was announced last September, took place on 1 February. The Australian company paid 1.865 billion US dollars (around 1.6 billion euros) for the Huelva mines. The news comes after Sandfire obtained the necessary regulatory approvals concerning foreign direct investment and competition at the end of December.

The complex consists of three underground mines, two in Almonaster la Real (Aguas Teñidas and Magdalena) and the Sotiel mine in Calañas. The company’s processing plant, located in the northern Iberian Pyrite Belt, produces copper, zinc and lead ore concentrates, with a capacity of 4.7 metric tonnes per year. Production is marketed from the Port of Huelva.

Huge growth potential
The acquisition of Matsa includes mineral exploration rights over an area of 2,450 square kilometres, which extends into neighbouring Portugal. Great long-term growth potential is anticipated which the production plant, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, is ready to exploit.

Matsa’s integration into Sandfire has been progressing smoothly and is already well advanced, as can be seen on the new website for the Huelva complex at www.sandfirematsa.es. The objective was to ensure a smooth, efficient transfer of its operations to the Australian global business upon completion of the transaction. In this final phase, efforts will be made to minimise operational disruption in order to ensure the continuity of existing operations.

A new era
Karl Simich, Sandfire's managing director and chief executive officer, called 1 February "a historic day for Sandfire", and explained: “Today marks the beginning of an exciting new era for Sandfire, with our business expanding into an organisation with a workforce of around 3,800 direct employees and contractors worldwide”.

Sandfire's goal is to become a diversified and sustainable international mining company. For the time being, the acquisition of Matsa has made the company as one of the largest copper producers on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the country's main stock exchange and, as Simich points out, one with "an impressive portfolio of expansion and exploration projects that we believe will continue to drive our growth for many years to come".

As a result of the new phase, Simich has announced that he will stay in Huelva for several weeks "to help lead the integration process". This way, he concludes, "we will all work incredibly hard to incorporate Matsa into Sandfire, and to create a single unified team that will work hard to strengthen the future of the operation and unlock the enormous exploration potential of our large landholding in Spain and Portugal".

^{Photo: Sandfire Matsa}