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Hudbay Minerals (HBM) Completes Rockcliff Metals Acquisition

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Hudbay Minerals (HBM - Free Report) has completed the previously-announced acquisition of Rockcliff Metals Corp. This strategic move will help will triple Hudbay’s land ownership in the promising Snow Lake region, extend mine life and prolong operations. It will also provide the company with additional exploration properties in the vicinity of its Stall and New Britannia mills.

Hudbay had announced the acquisition in June this year. As per the agreement, Rockcliff shareholders have been issued 0.006776 of a Hudbay common share for each Rockcliff share previously held. Rockcliff is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hudbay.

Rockcliff Metals is a Canadian major explorer in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt, Manitoba, Canada. Manitoba is home to the largest Paleoproterozoic Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore (VMS) district in the world. This region hosts high-grade mines and deposits containing copper, zinc, gold and silver.

Rockcliff is a major landholder in the area. Its portfolio of properties included six 100% owned high grade and undeveloped VMS deposits. Its seventh high grade VMS deposit, the Talbot copper deposit, was a joint venture with Hudbay. Rockcliff had 49% ownership in the venture while Hudbay held the remaining 51% (prior to the acquisition).

Rockcliff has measured and indicated mineral resources of 7.9 million tons grading 3.60% copper equivalent and inferred mineral resources of 5.1 million tons grading 3.19% copper equivalent.

Hudbay has been consolidating its land package in the prospective Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. In sync with this, in late June 2023, Hudbay completed the acquisition of the Cook Lake properties, which are located within ten kilometers and along the same regional trend as Hudbay’s Lalor mine. The properties include the Cook Lake North and South properties, which are within 30 kilometers of Hudbay’s Stall and New Britannia processing facilities.

The increase in Hudbay’s land position through the acquisition of the Cook Lake properties, Rockcliff properties and other recent land acquisitions, represents more than 250% increase in Hudbay’s Snow Lake land package. Hudbay intends to explore claims in hopes of finding a new anchor deposit to maximize and extend the life of its Snow Lake operations beyond 2038.

In June 2023, HBM closed the acquisition of Copper Mountain Mining Corporation. It provided Hudbay a larger-scale platform with three long-life operating mines with exploration and expansion upside, three large-scale development projects and one of the largest mineral resource bases among intermediate copper producers. It has also positioned it as the third largest copper producer in Canada based on its 2023 estimated copper production.

Price Performance

Shares of the Hudbay Minerals have gained 20.4% in the past year compared with the industry's 5.4% growth.

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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

HBM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

 Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) , Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN - Free Report) and Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI - Free Report) . CRS and HWKN each sport a Zacks Rank# 1 (Strong Buy) at present, while Alamos Gold carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The earnings estimate for Carpenter Technology’s current year is pegged at $3.48 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 205%. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 10%. The company’s shares have rallied 71% in the past year.

Hawkins has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 25.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $3.40 per share. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings has moved 38% north in the past 60 days. Its shares have gained 47% in the last year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGI's current-year earnings has been revised 13.2% upward over the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current fiscal year earnings for Alamos Gold is currently pegged at 43 cents per share, implying year-over-year growth of 53.6%. AGI shares have gained around 59% in a year.

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