Glencore has received a $575m offer from Australian junior Aeris for its CSA copper mine in New South Wales.

The current offer by Aeris comprises $575m in a mix of cash (approximately $525m) and Aeris shares (approximately $50m) plus a royalty payable to Glencore. 

According to Glencore’s reserves and resources report, the CSA mine has a productive life of five years and ore reserves to last around ten. It produced 48,000 tonnes of copper in 2018.

“Whilst Aeris provides this information to ensure that Aeris shareholders are informed as to the current status of discussions around the offer, it is important to note that there is no guarantee that the potential acquisition will proceed,” the company said in an ASX statement.

“Additionally, in the event that a formal agreement for the potential acquisition is entered into, it will likely be subject to a number of conditions including required shareholder approval.”

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Funding for the offer has not been finalised. It is proposed the acquisition be funded through a combination of debt (between $250m and $300m), an equity capital raising (between $185m and $240m) and a silver stream (between $35m to $40m). The final sizing of, and participants in, the relevant components of the raising are yet to be finalised. 

However, Aeris is in late stage discussions with major shareholder Special Portfolio Opportunity V Limited, a subsidiary of a fund managed by PAG, Orion Mine Finance and others. The equity component of the raising is being managed by RBC Capital Markets and Macquarie Capital.