(Bloomberg) — Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim is on the prowl for copper assets as demand for the metal used in wiring is set to take off in the clean energy transition.
The group’s Nexa Resources SA unit — the world’s fourth-largest zinc producer — wants to increase exposure to copper and is evaluating expansions of its existing mines, as well as potential new projects and acquisitions, Chief Financial Officer Rodrigo Menck said.
“We have a primary interest in copper, a metal most pursued by investors in the wake of electrification,” he said in an interview.
The Sao Paulo-based company that trades in New York is targeting smaller assets that could fit its financial capacity and add value. With mines and smelters in Brazil and Peru, it’s eying projects in the Americas and Africa in a bet that the push toward renewable power and electric vehicles will boost demand for one of the most conductive metals.
Nexa is exploring in Namibia, with an horizon of five years, and just opened a subsidiary in Ecuador, which Menck calls “the new mineral exploration frontier.”
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