“We are currently considering proposals and may decide to enter...

“We are currently considering proposals and may decide to enter into a sale process for this asset.

“These talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee a transaction will materialise.

“Any sale of CSA mine would need to be to a responsible operator and represent value for our shareholders.”

The mine could be a transformative acquisition for the handful of junior miners that work in the Cobar district, most notably Aeris Resources and Aurelia Metals.

Aeris Resources tried to buy CSA for a sum believed to be about $US575 million in 2019, in a deal that would have required it to spend about 10 times its market capitalisation.

Aeris and Glencore were ultimately unable to agree to terms.

Aurelia Metals also engaged in talks with Glencore in 2019, but a decision over whether to buy the CSA mine caused a split between the then board and chief executive of Aurelia.

Investor concerns over the split prompted Aurelia to withdraw from talks over the CSA mine.

The 2019 sale campaign came after a 2015 campaign which attracted the attention of OZ Minerals and EMR Capital.

Aeris, which mines in the Cobar region, is a bigger and better established company these days, and with markets supportive of copper acquisitions, the debt-free Aeris would likely find it easier to execute a deal this time around.

AIC Mines is another ASX-listed junior with big plans in copper, having recently struck a deal to buy Queensland’s Eloise mine out of private hands.

Copper was fetching $US4.23 per pound on Friday, down from $US4.80 in May but approximately double the prices witnessed in March 2020

Swiss miner Glencore hopes it will be a case of third time lucky as it considers a sale of its CSA copper and silver mine in New South Wales for the third time in six years.

Copper assets such as CSA are in fashion on the back of expectations the conductive, red metal will command high prices in future as existing mines fade, new mines struggle to enter production and demand soars on the back of the decarbonisation and electrification trends.

BHP has named copper as one of the commodities in which it most wants to grow, while corporate activity is booming amid initial public offerings such as that of 29Metalsand acquisitions like the $2.57 billion Spanish deal struck by Sandfire Resources this week.

Located near the NSW town of Cobar, CSA produces between 40,000 and 46,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates per year and also produces a silver byproduct.

“Glencore can confirm that we have received interest in our CSA (Cobar) copper mine in Australia,” said the Swiss company in a statement.