Nyrstar, the Belgian zinc smelter that could be a player in a sale of Lundin Mining's assets, has a whole lot more money to go shopping than it did just a few hours ago.
Nyrstar, as detailed in an earlier post, has been raising money to buy zinc mines. Lundin has a zinc mine in Sweden that is up for sale as part of the company's strategic review, which contemplates a breakup of the company.
Nyrstar said Monday that it got such demand from investors in a bond offering that closed Monday that the sale was increased from a planned €150-million to €525-million.
Nyrstar has a target of owning mines that produce half the zinc it needs to feed its smelters. At the moment, the company has mines that supply about a third of its needs.
The Lundin mine, known as Zinkgruvan, would take Nyrstar a good part of the way to its goal.
Heinz Eigner, chief financial officer of Nyrstar, said that the cash will give the company the ability to buy mines.
"The proceeds from this offering will further diversify our funding sources, thus ensuring we have the necessary financial strength to further deliver our strategy and our medium-term goal of 50 per cent integration," he said in a statement.