(Adds additional detail, background)
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources Ltd
has hired Barclays to sell all of its 80% stake in its
Zafranal copper asset in Peru, as the diversified miner
accelerates efforts to exit advanced projects and focus on its
massive Chilean expansion, two banking sources told Reuters on
Wednesday.
Teck is likely to sell or seek a partner for Zafranal, Chief
Executive Officer Don Lindsay has said.
The company and its advisors are sounding out interest from
mining firms already operating in Peru for the copper-gold
project that could fetch up to $500 million, one of the sources
said.
However, the project would need a further injection of more
than $1 billion before it can start production, the source said.
A representative for Teck company declined to comment on the
report, citing company policy not to comment on speculation. A
Barclays representative was not immediately available for
comment.
Japan's Mitsubishi Materials Corp, which owns the
remaining 20% of Zafranal, was also not immediately available to
comment.
The sources declined to be identified as the information on
bank hiring is not public.
Vancouver-based Teck last year said it would move forward
with its $4.7 billion Quebrada Blanca phase two copper project
in Chile.
First production is targeted for 2021 and forecast to reach
316,000 tonnes of copper equivalent per year for the first five
full years of mine life.
The company last month said it would cut staff and defer
some planned capital projects to cope with economic uncertainty
that has weighed on commodity prices.
(Reporting by Clara Denina in London;
Writing by Jeff Lewis; Editing by Sandra Maler and Sonya
Hepinstall)