HONG KONG-LISTED MMG Ltd. said yesterday it will look to buy assets of distressed miners in need of cash, joining a short list of companies with the financial means to turn predator.

    The China-owned copper and zinc miner operating in Peru, Australia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Laos, is ready to continue its seven-year growth trajectory after starting shipments in January from the US$10 billion Las Bambas copper lode in the Peruvian Andes.

    MMG’s parent, China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals, has set a target for 2020 for MMG’s enterprise value to increase to between US$15 billion and US$20 billion from just under US$10 billion now, a company spokeswoman told Reuters.

    High-debt miners such as Anglo American, Glencore and Freeport-McMoRan are under strain as commodities markets continue to deteriorate and bankers expect some of their most coveted assets to be put on the block.

    “The current market environment will continue to pose challenges but also provide significant opportunities,” Minmetals chief executive Andrew Michelmore said in a statement to Reuters.

    “With MMG’s track record and the support of our major shareholder, China Minmetals, we are well placed among our competitors to emerge from this period as a globally significant base metals producer.”

    While MMG will look at opportunities in copper and zinc, where it already enjoys a big footprint, Michelmore has also shown an interest in alumina and bauxite, the spokeswoman said.

    Minmetals wants MMG to become one of the biggest so-called mid-tier diversified miners outside China, and has left it to MMG to work out the strategy while providing ample capital to pursue its targets.

    “MMG has very little debt and a balance sheet that gives them an absolute advantage compared to most of their peers,” said Peter Chilton, a mining analyst for Edison Group.

    Anglo and Freeport both have prize copper assets in Latin America — for Anglo, Chile’s Los Bronces mine, and for Freeport, the Cerro Verde mine in Peru and a majority stake in the El Abra mine in Chile.(SD-Agencies)