The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, March 6, edition that First Quantum Minerals has attracted interest from companies wanting to buy a minority interest in its Zambian copper operations. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that chairman Robert Harding says First Quantum has signed non-disclosure agreements with several groups interested in the African mines, and expects to soon provide access to a data room for due diligence. Mr. Harding did not specify details about the parties or a timeline for signing a potential deal. Talks to sell a minority interest in the Zambian business are happening as the company faces pressure to strengthen its balance sheet and raise cash following the closure of its flagship copper mine in Panama. The firm sold about $1.15-billion (U.S.) in stock and raised $1.6-billion (U.S.) from a notes offering last month, and it has said it may look at selling smaller mining assets. Mr. Harding says: "We're busy getting the data room available for people to be able to look at the data, but there isn't a specific time frame. It'll take whatever it takes for those other organizations to go through the data room and make decisions, and come back to us with potential proposals."