South32 chief executive Graham Kerr says the company's move to take control of the Toronto-listed Arizona Mining will give it one of the few "shovel-ready" projects in a global mining industry struggling to find ways to grow.

The Perth-based miner announced on Monday that it will spend $US1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) to buy the 83 per cent of Toronto-listed Arizona Mining that it doesn't already own.