Castro Verde, Beja, Portugal, April 16, 2025 (Lusa) - Boliden will work "to create new development opportunities" at the Neves-Corvo mines in the Alentejo region of Portugal and the Zinkgruvan mines in Sweden, which the Swedish multinational controls as of Wednesday, its CEO said. The acquisition of these two mining complexes "consolidates Boliden's position as the leading base metals company in Europe", the group said in a statement released on Wednesday and sent to the Lusa news agency. These investments will contribute "to the creation of value for Boliden from the outset", argued Mikael Staffas, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Swedish multinational, quoted in the statement. As with the mines already owned by the group, "we will also work in the long term to create new development opportunities" in the acquired mining complexes, he said. Boliden AB announced that it had finalised the acquisition of the Neves-Corvo mining complexes from Somincor, in the district of Castro Verde, in the district of Beja, Portugal, and Zinkgruvan, in Sweden. "The acquisition will almost double Boliden's zinc concentrate production and significantly strengthen its copper concentrate production," the multinational emphasised. On 9 December last year, it was announced that Boliden AB had signed an agreement with the Swedish-Canadian multinational Lundin Mining to acquire the Somincor copper and zinc mine in Portugal and the Zinkgruvan zinc mine in Sweden. At the time, it was announced that the deal totalled US$1.52 billion (around €1.34 billion at the exchange rate at the time). Also in a statement released today, Lundin Mining announced "the conclusion of the sale of its Neves-Corvo operations in Portugal and Zinkgruvan in Sweden to Boliden AB". "At the close of the transaction, Lundin Mining received cash proceeds of US$1.40 billion (around €1.24 billion at the current exchange rate), which includes interest accrued from the lock-box date of 31 August 2024," reads the statement consulted by Lusa. The companies said that future contingent payments of "up to US$150 million" (around €133 million at the current exchange rate) are linked to commodity prices and the fulfilment of certain conditions. In the statement, Lundin Mining's CEO, Jack Lundin, emphasised that "the sale of Neves-Corvo and Zinkgruvan marks the end of a fundamental chapter" for the Swedish-Canadian multinational, which "raised the profile and laid the foundations for growth" for the group. Formed on 24 July 1980, Somincor is the concessionaire of the Neves-Corvo mine, which produces mainly copper and zinc concentrates, as well as silver and lead, and where around 2,000 people work. The company has been linked to the Lundin Mining group for around two decades and is the largest zinc mine in Europe and the sixth largest copper mine on the European continent, as well as the largest employer in the region. Last year, 109,571 tonnes of zinc concentrate came out of the Neves-Corvo mine, 759 tonnes more than the previous year, while copper production stood at 28,228 tonnes, 5,595 less than in 2023. RRL/AYLS // AYLS Lusa