The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Hudbay Minerals said on Monday it will buy the remaining shares in Arizona Sonoran Copper for $1.48-billion (U.S.), as the miner expands its footprint to capitalize on the growing demand for the red metal. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe reports that copper is poised to benefit from surging demand driven by electric vehicles and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Miners have begun to consolidate as countries globally ramp up efforts to reduce their reliance on China. Hudbay currently holds a nearly 10 per cent stake in ASCU and each ASCU shareholder will receive 0.242 of a Hudbay share for each share held, representing $9.35 (Canadian) per ASCU common share. The share price offered represents a premium of 29.5 per cent to ASCU's closing price on Friday. The deal would give Hudbay 100 per cent ownership in the Cactus project in Arizona, which is expected to be a major producer of copper cathode once it comes on-line. Hudbay said with the addition of the project, it expects to lift its U.S. copper output to nearly 500,000 tonnes a year. The deal would also not affect the sanctioning or development of its Copper World mine in the state, it added.