• First Quantum Minerals is selling its Çayeli copper-zinc mine in Türkiye to Cengiz Insaat for $340 million, marking its complete exit from the country
• The sale is part of First Quantum's portfolio optimization strategy, allowing the company to focus on its core Zambian operations, including Kansanshi, Sentinel, and Enterprise mines
• The $340 million cash proceeds will support debt reduction, fund sustaining and optimisation capital, and preserve financial flexibility for First Quantum

Harare- First Quantum Minerals, one of the world’s leading copper producers and Zambia’s single largest taxpayer in the mining sector has entered into a binding agreement to sell its Çayeli copper-zinc mine in Türkiye to Cengiz Insaat, a subsidiary of Turkish industrial conglomerate Cengiz Holding, for US$340 million in cash according to its latest circular.

The deal includes an immediate US$50 million advance payment, which will be credited against the final purchase price upon closing. Subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing adjustments, the transaction is expected to complete during the second or third quarter of 2026.

This divestment represents First Quantum’s complete exit from Türkiye and forms part of a deliberate, accelerated portfolio optimisation strategy.

The group’s CEO Tristan Pascall, described the move as consistent with the company’s disciplined approach to asset management, noting that Çayeli had delivered strong performance for over a decade under First Quantum ownership due to its dedicated workforce and exemplary safety culture.

By monetising the mine now, shortly after the 2025 delineation of the South Orebody extended its life to 2036, First Quantum is capturing significant resource upside at an attractive valuation while shedding a mature, mid-tier asset that no longer aligns with its long-term growth priorities.

Çayeli, an underground volcanic-hosted massive sulfide operation on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, has produced copper and zinc concentrates since 1994 using conventional bulk-mining methods. In has contributed modestly to First Quantum’s group production, approximately 11,000 tonnes of copper and 2,000 tonnes of zinc in 2025 compared with the scale of the company’s Zambian operations.

The sale follows a similar disposal of a past-producing asset in Spain in late 2025 and comes at a time when First Quantum is actively addressing balance-sheet pressures stemming from two major operational pauses, the Preservation and Safe Management phase at the giant Cobre Panamá copper mine, which halted since November 2023 amid environmental and regulatory disputes and the care-and-maintenance status of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia since May 2024 due to persistently low nickel prices.

The US$340 million cash proceeds, net of adjustments, provide immediate and meaningful liquidity. This capital is expected to support debt reduction as the group’s net debt stood at roughly US$7 billion at the end of 2025, fund sustaining and optimisation capital across the remaining portfolio, and preserve financial flexibility during a period of elevated interest costs and commodity-price volatility.

Following the announcement, several research desks upgraded their ratings or price targets, with commentary highlighting improved near-term liquidity, reduced geographical complexity, and a clearer path to deleveraging.

For Zambia, the implications are unequivocally positive. First Quantum’s Zambian operations, Kansanshi, Sentinel, and Enterprise constitute the company’s production and cash-flow engine and remain the undisputed core of its global strategy. Kansanshi, Africa’s largest copper mine by output, consistently produces more than 250,000 tonnes of copper annually and often closer to 300,000 tonnes in strong years due to multiple phased expansions, including the recent integration of a state-of-the-art smelter that improves concentrate processing efficiency and recovers additional acid for leaching operations.

Sentinel, one of the continent’s most modern and lowest-cost large-scale open-pit copper mines, delivers over 200,000 tonnes of copper per year from a long-life reserve base that extends well beyond 2040. Enterprise, the adjacent nickel mine, adds roughly 30,000 tonnes of nickel annually, positioning First Quantum to benefit from the structural demand growth in electric-vehicle batteries and stainless steel.

Collectively, these three Zambian mines account for the overwhelming majority of First Quantum’s group copper output approximately 1.2 million tonnes in 2025 and generate the lion’s share of its revenue and free cash flow.

They also underpin Zambia’s position as a leading copper jurisdiction. First Quantum is the country’s largest taxpayer, contributing billions of kwacha annually in corporate income tax, royalties, customs duties, and pay-as-you-earn taxes. The operations directly employ thousands of Zambians and support tens of thousands more through the local supply chain, while extensive corporate social-responsibility programmes fund malaria prevention, maternal and child health initiatives, education scholarships, skills training, agricultural cooperatives, water and sanitation projects, and road infrastructure across the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces.

By divesting Çayeli, First Quantum reduces operational and managerial stretch, allowing greater focus, technical expertise, and capital allocation to flow toward Zambia.

This could accelerate several value-accretive initiatives already in the pipeline including sustaining capital and optimisation projects at Kansanshi and Sentinel to maintain low unit costs already among the industry’s best at under US$1.50–1.80 per pound all-in sustaining and maximise recovery rates, and potential brownfield expansions, including the long-discussed S3 phase at Kansanshi, which could lift annual throughput to 50 million tonnes and add meaningful incremental copper production.

Other initiatives include near-mine exploration and resource conversion drilling on the prolific Zambian Copperbelt tenements, where First Quantum holds one of the largest undeveloped resource inventories in the region, and continued investment in Enterprise to optimise nickel output and capture upside from recovering nickel prices.

A leaner, more focused First Quantum also mitigates downside risks that could otherwise affect Zambian stakeholders. Lower leverage reduces the likelihood of forced cost-cutting, deferred capex, or reduced community spending during periods of market stress. It also strengthens the company’s negotiating position in ongoing discussions to resolve the Cobre Panamá impasse, whose eventual restart would add another ~350,000 tonnes of copper annually and further diversify revenue, without compromising the stability of Zambian cash flows.

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