RE: RE: why not a takeover?of course takeover by Chinese is very possible. it does not matter that the production is committed. this btw brings into TO play even more (financial) players.
china wants to spend US dollars for cheap copper - effectively hedging their future copper costs at 2ish level. copper is a global commodity - you do not need to own an off-take from a particular mine - the price is the determinant and that's what Chinese want to secure.
the only thing i see as a problem is the unfortunate japan/china relations. could they do business together? i believe they can as the japan/china trade is the most important trade for both of these countries.