The row over Anglo American's Chilean business has escalated again, with the mining group taking legal action against its partner in the country Codelco.
Anglo has filed a writ alleging breach of contract against Codelco, following legal action by the Chilean company. At issue is Anglo's deal to sell a 24.5% stake in its southern Chilean business to Japan's Mitsubishi for $5.39bn. Codelco said it wanted to exercise an option to buy a 49% shareholding in Anglo's assets in the country, and Anglo must respect its position. Anglo's writ claims Codelco breached the option agreement.
On Wednesday a Chilean court maintained a freeze preventing Anglo from selling more of its stake, after Codelco began proceedings against Mitsubishi.
Despite the legal action Anglo said it was open to working with Codelco to sort out the disagreement. Anglo's chief executive Cynthia Carroll said:
While both Anglo American and Codelco have taken legal measures, this does not detract from our willingness to reach agreement with Codelco.
A rise in the copper price outweighed worries about the dispute, and Anglo's shares have added 34.5p to 2334.5p.
