SNC’s Mystery Problem Has Analysts Pointing to Chile After Rout
- Based on contract date, state-owned Codelco seems to match
- Copper smelter has been offline since December for upgrades
A truck transports minerals inside the Codelco Chuquicamata open pit copper mine near Calama, Chile, on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018.
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. won’t reveal the location of a “serious problem” in its mining business that fueled an epic share rout Monday. But analysts are pointing the finger at Chile.
AltaCorp Capital, Desjardins Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity and Raymond James say a copper mine run by Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper producer, is the probable source of SNC’s pain. SNC Chief Executive Officer Neil Bruce declined to identify the project in question, saying only that the troubled contract had been awarded in 2016.