Lundin Mining says no plan to amend hostile Nevsun bid

By Susan Taylor

(Reuters) - Canada's Lundin Mining Corp said on Thursday it does not plan to revise its hostile bid for fellow base-metal miner Nevsun Resources Ltd after it was trumped by a C$1.86 billion ($1.42 billion) offer from China's Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd.

Lundin made five informal proposals and took a C$1.4 billion bid made directly to shareholders in July, all of which were rejected as inadequate by Nevsun. Lundin, whose bid expires on Nov. 9, said on Thursday that it does not plan to amend any of the terms in its offer.

Nevsun is recommending that shareholders accept Zijin's C$6.00 per share cash offer on Wednesday, 26 percent above Lundin's C$4.75 a share cash bid.

The contest for Nevsun, which has a high-grade copper project in Serbia and a copper and zinc mine in Eritrea, comes amid rising demand and scarce supply of copper.

Lundin shareholders and analysts were not expecting the company to sweeten its offer because that would require financing, and Zijin appears to have a strong interest in the asset. Lundin said on Thursday it would continue to pursue strategic growth opportunities.

In a deal announced last week, Zijin agreed to invest $1.26 billion for a 63-percent stake in a copper mine and smelter in Serbia.

The Zijin-Nevsun deal would be the biggest acquisition of a Canadian miner in four years, since the C$4 billion purchase of Osisko Mining assets in 2014, Thomson Reuters data show.

Nevsun has said it can consider new proposals, though it does not have a process under way, and Zijin has the right to match any competing offer.

(Reporting by Susan Taylor in Toronto and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman)