STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Boliden has signed an agreement with the Canadian mining company Eurozinc concerning the future purchase of copper concentrate. The agreement is conditional on the success of an offer submitted yesterday by Eurozinc for the acquisition of SOMINCOR SA, the owner of the Portuguese copper mine, Neves Corvo. The auction process is expected to be completed at the end of February.
Neves Corvo is an important copper mine which produced around 320 000 tonnes of copper concentrate in 2002. Boliden's Harjavalta copper smelter has been purchasing copper concentrates from Neves Corvo for a considerable time. The agreement allows Boliden to secure future deliveries of copper concentrate to its smelters.
Boliden and Outokumpu have also signed a cooperation agreement with Eurozinc. Through this agreement, Boliden and Outokumpu will provide Eurozinc with general operational and technical services. Outokumpu has also entered into a technical service agreement by means of which they will supply Eurozinc with a range of technical services as well as delivery of technical equipment. These agreements are also subject to the success of Eurozinc's bid to acquire SOMINCOR SA.
For further information, please contact:
Jan Johansson, President and CEO, telephone +46 8 610 1602, + 46 70 555 02 02 Ulf Soderstrom, Senior VP Group Communications, telephone +46 8 610 15 57, +46 70 618 95 95
Boliden is one of the leading mining and smelting companies in the world with operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland and Canada. Boliden's main products are copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver. Exploration and Recycling of Base Metals are also important within the company. The number of employees is approximately 4 800 and the turnover amounts to approximately EUR 1.6 billion annually. The Boliden share is quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in Sweden as well as on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada.
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