Minmetals' Mineral Reserves On The Rise
Published by MAC on 2007-02-09Source: Interfax China Metals
Minmetals' Mineral Reserves on the Rise
China Minmetals Corporation's mineral reserves have seen rapid growth in 2006, the company announced Tuesday.
At the end of 2006, the company had 2.51 million tons of alumina reserves, 600 million tons of iron ore reserves, 385,000 tons of tungsten reserves, and 280 million tons of coke reserves.
Minmetals' sales revenue was $18.9 billion in 2006, which was the third consecutive year that the company to reaped a sales revenue over $1.5 billion.
For the first time, Minmetals, one of China's largest minerals and metals traders, had domestic business revenue that outweighed its foreign business revenue in 2006.
The company is still planning to maintain its large reserves. Last February, the company signed a deal with the world's largest copper mine, Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), to obtain 836,250 tons of copper from Codelco over the next 15 years. In July 2006, Minmetals acquired an iron ore mine in Anhui with a reserve of 105 million tons for RMB 190 billion ($24.52 billion).
Minmetals also signed a long-term agreement with international iron ore suppliers, including the Brazilian CVRD and South African PMC.
Minmetals' various mining projects at home and abroad saw the company enter into a joint venture agreement with NASDAQ-listed aluminum producer Century Aluminum in May 2006. The joint venture will explore a bauxite mine and set up an alumina refinery in Jamaica. Minmetals also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bolivia in March 2006 for nonferrous metals resource development, which include copper, stibium, and tin.
Minmetals' prospecting projects include the silver-lead-zinc mine in Guansu, a tungsten-molybdenum mine in Guangxi, and other mines in Mauritania, Vietnam, and Australia.
By the end of 2006, Minmetals boasted 20 mining, smelting and processing units, with a production value of RMB 20 billion ($2.58 billion) and cooperated with provinces and cities, including Qinghai, Hunan, Liaoning, Tianjin, Anhui.
Minmetals' acquisition of Hunan-based Ershisanyejian Construction Group Co. last August has opened the company to a new area of mining construction projects.
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[source: Interfax China Metals, February 9 2007]