The resources boom might be over, but one of the world’s richest and most influential investors is still prepared to bet that there are good times ahead for Australia’s mining sector.
George Soros, whose fortune is valued at around $US11 billion, has purchased a 20% stake in local copper miner Marengo Mining for just over $8 million, through his investment fund.
Marengo, which is developing a copper and gold project in Papua New Guinea, raised just over $16 million on the Canadian stock exchange.
It is planning to raise a further $5.4 million through a placement to sophisticated investors in Australia.
Soros is one of the most influential figures on Wall Street and is known as a fearless currency speculator and investor.
In 1992, he famously earned the moniker “the man who broke the Bank of England” after his fund sold short $US10 billion of British pounds, betting that the pound would fall. When the Bank of England was forced to withdraw the currency from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the pound fell and Soros earned about $US1.1 billion.
His investment adds to his small Australian portfolio. In November last year, Soros bought a stake in Sphere Investments, which is focused on developing iron ore assets in West Africa.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
