Abu Dhabi Fund Invests in Swiss Online Metals-Trading Platform

(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi-backed Mubadala Investment Co. is buying into a Swiss online metals-trading platform set up by two former Glencore Plc traders.

The United Arab Emirates wealth fund is the lead investor in a $33 million funding round, Zug, Switzerland-based Open Mineral AG said in a statement. The funds will be used to expand the company’s digital trading offering, which allows producers and traders to buy and sell metals and raw materials online. 

Boris Eykher, Open Mineral’s chief executive officer and co-founder, said the firm has 45% of all global metals buyers and sellers registered on its trading platform. Users include China’s Zijin Mining Group and Russia’s Ural Mining and Metallurgical Co., he said by email.

The latest funding round attracted other new investors, including Statkraft and Lingfeng Capital. Open Mineral declined to disclose the size of individual investments. The trading platform’s other backers include Xploration Capital and Emerald Technology Ventures.

The chairman of closely held Open Mineral’s advisory board is Winston Ma, the former head of China Investment Corp.’s North America office and an ex-board member at Noble Group Ltd.

Mubadala has been an active investor in the metals and mining space. It co-owns the Matsa copper mining operation in Spain with trading giant Trafigura Group. That asset was put up for sale amid a surge in copper prices, Bloomberg News reported in February. 

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