BMO Capital Markets, the Canadian investment bank, has secured its first major mandate advising Glencore Xstrata on its options for a Peruvian copper mine it must sell, in order to meet the conditions of its multibillion dollar merger.

The bank is not a frequent adviser to the company. It has not handled a mergers and acquisitions mandate or an equity or debt capital market transaction for either Glencore or Xstrata since 2000, according to Dealogic.