Posted on 15 Aug 2025
Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals has secured a $600 million strategic investment from Mitsubishi Corporation to develop its US copper asset, Kallanish reports.
The agreement announced Wednesday foresees the Japanese giant paying $420 million at the closing of the transaction and another $180m 18 months later for a 30% stake in Copper World. The company is a subsidiary of Hudbay and owner of the fully-permitted Copper World project in Arizona.
The $1.5 billion project is planned to produce 85,000 tonnes/year of copper, with an estimated 20-year mine life. A definitive feasibility study (DFS) is expected in mid-2026, enabling the companies to reach a final investment decision later that year. Construction is expected to take three years.
“After a highly robust and competitive process, we have selected the premier partner of choice in Mitsubishi,” comments Hudbay’s president and ceo Peter Kukielski. “Through this partnership, we will leverage our complementary strengths to deliver our world-class Copper World project, produce domestic copper in the US for the US critical minerals supply chain and create value for all our stakeholders.”
As Mitsubishi is involved in five of the top 20 copper mines globally by 2024 production, it is broadly seen as a “strategic partner of choice.” In addition to its initial investment, the company will make pro-rate equity capital contributions, starting 31 August 2025, and will participate in the funding of the DFS, plus the final project design, project financing and construction.
This will enable Hudbay to reduce its capital contributions to around $200 million, starting in 2028 “at the earliest.”
The deal is expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026, and it’s subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Source:Kallanish
