Bell Potter’s Perth desk was seeking buyers for Mineral...

Bell Potter’s Perth desk was seeking buyers for Mineral Resources’ entire stake in Develop Global after the market close on Monday in an effort to raise cash.

Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison.

Chris Ellison’s MinRes holds nearly 14 per cent of the Bill Beament-led explorer. Shares were sold in a buyer-led trade at $2 a pop, just shy of $70 million in total, with funds like Tribeca’s Global Natural Resources snapping up stock.

The sale removes a large overhang from Develop Global’s stock, especially as copper prices strengthen. Fund managers have known it is a non-core holding for MinRes and expected it to come up for sale. The relationship between Ellison and Beament is still strong, sources said. MinRes will continue to be Develop’s underground mining contract at Mt Marion.

MinRes has been trying to sell off its non-core assets to unlock cash and reduce its debt levels. The company called in JPMoragn to sell its 49 per cent stake in its dedicated 150-kilometre private haul road corridor in February. It also sold a $230 million parcel of shares in lithium miner Azure Minerals in the same month.

Develop Global’s shares closed the day down 1.75 per cent at $2.24 a share