A new massive acquisition in mining is happening. And it’s a joint venture between two of the biggest giants in natural resources.

‍What’s happening:‍

• Mining giants BHP (NYSE:BHP) and Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) have announced they will acquire Filo Mining (TSX: FILO) in a $3 billion deal
  

By the numbers:‍

• The acquisition will be funded 50% by BHP and 50% by Lundin Mining
  
• The purchase price of Filo Mining comes at approximately +12% premium to where shares of Filo Mining were trading prior to the announcement
  

Why it matters:‍

• This is one of the largest acquisitions globally to happen in mining recently, signalling a potential uptick in demand for energy transition metals
  
• The pursuit of more large scale copper discoveries and operating mines has also been accelerating, with BHP previously launching a partnership with Ivanhoe Electric to find more American copper projects and well funded London listed SPAC recently acquiring a Turkish copper mine
  

Going deeper:‍

• Filo Mining’s flagship asset is their copper project located on the border of Argentina and Chile, which is located near the historically copper abundant jurisdiction of the Atacama Desert
  

The intrigue:‍

• Copper prices have been rising due to a boom in demand, which is largely driven by clean energy technology infrastructure and decarbonization

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