May 21 (Reuters) - Canadian copper miner Hudbay Minerals ( HBM )

plans to raise $300.2 million in an equity offering to

help fund near-term growth initiatives at its Copper Mountain

unit among other purposes, the company said on Tuesday.

Underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital

Markets will buy 31.6 million shares of Hudbay at $9.50 each

under a bought deal.

The company could raise as much as $345.2 million in gross

proceeds if the underwriters exercise an over-allotment option

to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares.

Hudbay said it also intends to use the proceeds to improve

balance sheet flexibility and evaluate mill throughput

enhancement opportunities at the Constancia mine in Peru and its

New Britannia mill in Manitoba, Canada.

U.S.-listed shares of the company were down 8.4% in

extended trading.

Copper hit a record $11,104.50 on Monday on the London

Metals Exchange as a rally triggered by short covering created

momentum for speculators and funds to bet on a potential

long-term shortage of the metal in the transition to green

energy.

Additionally, despite demand remaining weak in top consumer

China, the higher prices have moved companies to restart older

mines.

Toronto-based Hudbay bought Vancouver-based Copper Mountain

in 2023 for C$439 million ($321.59 million), where it

anticipates roughly 92,000 metric tons of average copper

production over the first ten years.

Total initial cost for phase 1 is expected to be C$1.3

billion.

($1 = 1.3651 Canadian dollars)