Reuters reported that Europe's No 2 copper producer KGHM is working on five more takeover projects on top of the recently agreed purchase of Canadian rival Quadra FNX in an effort to meet ambitious output goals.

Mr Herbert Wirth CEO of KGHM told Reuters in an interview that “We are running takeover talks independent from the Quadra project and it's not our plan B. We are targeting our copper output at 700,000 tonnes by 2018. With 425,000 tonnes of our own current output and over 100,000 potentially from Quadra, then even with Afton-Ajax we still lack a bit.”

However the CEO backed away from recent comments and said the bottom line might be higher. He said “We do not rule out the possibility of raising our 2011 goal before the end of the year, and as far as 2012 goes it should not be bad if counted without the new tax.”

The CEO said KGHM plans to keep next year's copper output from its own resources flat at 425,000 tonnes, but faces an imminent problem with the new mining tax, which the government hopes will bring in 1.8 billion zlotys to state coffers in 2012.

The Polish state controlled miner made a CAD 3 billion friendly all cash bid to gain control of Quadra's Sierra Gorda copper project in Chile and other assets in Canada, Chile and the United States. KGHM wants to ink the deal in the first quarter of 2012, its second project in Canada after setting up a joint venture last year with Abacus Mining to develop its Afton Ajax copper gold project in Kamloops, British Columbia.

The Quadra purchase would swallow up most of KGHM's 2011 net profit, which the miner has pegged at a record USD 2.7 billion.

(Sourced from Reuters)