Arizona Sonoran Copper (ASCU.TO) said Thursday that Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO) agreed to invest $19.9 million in the company through a private placement.

The offering comprised 11,852,064 shares priced at $1.68 per share. Closing is expected to occur on or about Jan. 30.

Arizona Sonoran plans to use the proceeds to advance the Cactus copper project in Arizona, as well as for general corporate purposes.

"We welcome Hudbay, a mid-tier base metal producer with decades of base metal successes in the Americas and a strong existing footprint in Arizona, as a larger and increasingly engaged shareholder, able to lend its experience and expertise as we advance and develop Cactus," said George Ogilvie, Arizona Sonoran's president and CEO.

This comes after Panoro Minerals (PML.V) late on Wednesday said a Hudbay Minerals subsidiary will exercise its option to repurchase and cancel the 2% net smelter return royalty on the Kusiorcco project for US$2 million.

The companies are in the process of having the repurchase and cancellation of the royalty registered in the Peru Public Registry, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

Panoro retained the royalty from the sale of the project to Hudbay in 2018.

Hudbay maintained its Outperform rating and $16.75 price target at National Bank of Canada following the news.

The price target was based on a multiple of 1.25x NAV (50%) + 7.5x EV/2025 CF (25%) + 7.5x EV/2026 CF (25%).

"HBM is one of our top picks for 2025 supported by strong operational results to close out 2024, gold price tailwinds, improving near-term growth outlook with expansion initiatives at Copper Mountain and Constancia and a discounted valuation," the bank said. "With Copper World permits now received we look for the company to clean any potential legal uncertainty related to the State permits, finalize a partnership agreement and deliver a prudent financing package in 2025 in advance of a feasibility study by H1/26."

Hudbay's share price was up 2.7% at last look to $13.03 on the TSX.