News: S32 Poland's KGHM might sell more small mines, says deputy head

WARSAW, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Poland's KGHM KGH.WA might sell more smaller projects after it put on sale two American mines, as it bids to focus on bigger ones, the company's deputy head told Reuters.

The company, which is one of the world's biggest copper and silver producers, plans to sell Carlota mine in the United States and Chilean mine Franke.

"One process is likely to be completed soon. In the near future, this may be within a few months...The second one may take longer...I think this possible next year," Pawel Gruza, vice president in charge of foreign assets, told Reuters.

"This process (the sale of assets) will be continued and may be extended...no decision has yet been made to sell more assets, but there are mines whose scale does not match KGHM's ambitions. We should focus on medium and large projects," he added.

Gruza said the company does not plan to sell the Robinson mine in the United States or Sierra Gorda in Chile.

"There is always an option to sell this project, but we still see optimisation potential for Sierra Gorda. In other words, we see opportunities for further increasing the value of this investment in KGHM's books," said Gruza.

In October, Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd 5713.T and Sumitomo Corp 8053.T agreed to sell their stakes in Sierra Gorda to Australian miner South32 Ltd (S32) .

"...I believe that Sierra Gorda's development plans will not be significantly changed by the mere fact of a new investor entering," Gruza also said.