Rio Tinto, Sumitomo Metal partner to develop Winu copper-gold project (updated)

Sumitomo Metal Mining

03/12/2024 21:56

(Adds details on JV in paragraphs 2-5)
       Dec 4 (Reuters) - Miner Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  said on
Wednesday it has formed a joint venture with Japan's Sumitomo
Metal  5713.T  to develop and operate the Winu copper-gold
project in Western Australia.
    Under the terms of the joint venture, Rio Tinto will
continue to develop and operate Winu, which it discovered in
2017, as managing partner, with Sumitomo slated to acquire a 30%
equity share of the project for $399 million.
    This includes an upfront payment of $195 million, with the
remaining $204 million to be paid as deferred considerations.
    Rio Tinto said the two companies have signed a letter of
intent for a broader partnership to explore opportunities
related to commercial, technical, and strategic collaboration
across copper, other base metals and lithium.
    The company and Sumitomo will aim to finalize definitive
agreements for the Winu project joint venture in the first half
of 2025, Rio Tinto said.

 (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shreya Biswas and Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))