Antofagasta gets Tethyan (May 15, 2006)

Shareholders of Tethyan Copper (TYCFF-O, TYC-A) have tendered about 96% of their shares to a takeover offer from Antofagasta (ANFGY-O, ANTO-L) that closed Friday.

Antofagasta had offered A$1.20 per share for the developer, whose main asset is a 75% interest in the Reko Diq porphyry-copper project in southwestern Pakistan. The tender meets a 90% condition Antofagasta had placed on the offer.

Barrick Gold (ABX-T, ABX-N) is bankrolling US$100 million of Antofagasta’s bid, in exchange for a 50% working interest in Reko Diq. The property, in which the Balochistani provincial government holds a 25% interest, hosts a series of porphyry-copper deposits with total resources of 2.4 billion tonnes running 0.51% copper and 0.27 gram gold per tonne.