CELEX: 32015M7774
Language: en
Date: 2015-10-15 00:00:00
Title: Commission Decision of 15/10/2015 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market (Case No COMP/M.7774 - ANTOFAGASTA / BARRICK / ZALDIVAR) according to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (Only the English text is authentic)

|[pic]                             |EUROPEAN COMMISSION                                                                                      |

                                        Brussels, 15.10.2015
                                        C(2015) 7163 final

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|                                                                       |To the notifying parties:                                              |

Dear Sirs,

Subject:    Case M.7774 - ANTOFAGASTA/ BARRICK/ ZALDIVAR
         Commission decision pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004[1] and Article 57 of the Agreement on the
         European Economic Area[2]

 1. On 21 September 2015, the European Commission received notification of a  proposed  concentration  pursuant  to  Article  4  of  the  Merger
    Regulation by which the undertakings Antofagasta PLC  ('Antofagasta', United  Kingdom)  and  Barrick  Gold  Corporation  ('Barrick'  Canada)
    acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the  Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking Compañía  Minera  Zaldívar
    SpA ('Zaldivar SpA' Chile), currently wholly owned by Barrick, by way of  purchase of shares.[3]

 2. The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

       – for Antofagasta: mining group which operates three copper mines located in Chile, two of which produce by-products such as gold,  silver
         and molybdenum;

       – for Barrick: mining group operating 16 mines worldwide, most of which are focused on the production of gold with the  exception  of  two
         copper mines; the group also owns a majority interest in Acacia Mining plc, which operates three gold mines in Africa;

       – for Zaldivar SpA: newly created company which will operate  the Zaldivar mine in  Chile,  an  open-pit  heap-leach  mine  that  produces
         copper, and is currently indirectly owned by Barrick.

 3. After examination of the notification, the European Commission has concluded that the notified operation  falls  within  the  scope  of  the
    Merger Regulation and of paragraph 5(c) of the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment  of  certain  concentrations  under
    Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.[4]

 4. For the reasons set out in the Notice on a simplified procedure, the European Commission has decided not to oppose  the  notified  operation
    and to declare it compatible with the internal market and with the EEA Agreement. This decision is adopted in application of Article 6(1)(b)
    of the Merger Regulation and Article 57 of the EEA Agreement.

                                        For the Commission
                                        (Signed)
                                        Johannes LAITENBERGER
                                        Director-General
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[1]   OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the "Merger Regulation"). With effect from 1 December 2009, the Treaty on the Functioning of the  European  Union
    ("TFEU") has introduced certain changes, such as the replacement of "Community" by "Union" and "common market"  by  "internal  market".  The
    terminology of the TFEU will be used throughout this decision.

[2]   OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3 ("the EEA Agreement").

[3]   Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union No C 321, 29.9.2015, p. 4.

[4]   OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

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                                                                  PUBLIC VERSION

                                                           SIMPLIFIED MERGER PROCEDURE