* Nomura had valued Zaldivar stake at $600 mln
* Deal to increase Antofagasta output by almost 10 pct
* Antofagasta shares down 5 percent to 6-year low
By Silvia Antonioli
LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp's ABX.TO
sale of half of its Zaldivar copper mine in Chile to Antofagasta
ANTO.L for what analysts say is a pricey $1 billion hit
Antofagasta's shares on Friday, but could help Anglo American
AAL.L in its own copper assets sale.
Shares in Antofagasta fell by almost 5 percent on Friday to
their lowest in six years, after the announcement late on
Thursday that the Chilean copper mining firm had agreed to buy
50 percent of Zaldivar for $1 billion in cash. ID:nL1N10A3S3
Analysts put the fall down to what they see as an expensive
price for a mine with a relatively short life of 14 years.
The price assumes significantly higher copper prices or
operational improvements at Zaldivar, according to Jefferies.
Copper has lost almost half of its value since its 2011
highs of around $10,000 a tonne but it remains one of the metals
with the more positive fundamentals due to supply constraints.
Nomura analyst Patrick Jones, who valued the stake at $600
million based on the mine's net present value (npv), said the
deal looked "incredibly expensive" and disappointed those
investors who hoped Antofagasta would diversify outside Chile.
The company, controlled by Chile's Luksic family, has been
hit, together with its peers, by problems such as scarce water
availability, higher taxes, costly power, and opposition from
local communities.
The price however, could help global mining group Anglo
American in negotiations to sell some of its unwanted copper
assets in Chile that are up for sale, analysts said.
"It puts a marker on the ground in terms of valuations which
shows you still have to pay for quality copper assets," said
Bernstein Research Paul Gait. "If I was Mick Davis or one of the
other buyers I wouldn't be happy."
Under pressure from a slump in commodities prices, Anglo
American if hoping to raise $1.4 billion from the divestment of
some assets which include copper mines in Chile. ID:nL5N1041R2
Anglo's Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde copper mines in Chile,
together with some nearby processing plants that Anglo is also
looking to sell, could fetch up to $1 billion, banking sources
say. They have attracted the interest of former Xstrata boss
Mick Davis and mining and trading giant Glencore GLEN.L .
ID:nL5N0Z345V
The Zaldivar stake acquisition, which puts to rest
speculation that the Luksic family might want to get out of
mining, will grow Antofagasta's output by almost 10 percent.
It reduces the cash pile available to pay dividends but
"helps a company that has been struggling to deliver growth cost
effectively", Investec said.