Domestic

SGIM eyes resources around the globe

By Zhang Qi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-18 10:50

TIANJIN - State-owned Shandong Gold Corp Group is speeding up the pace of overseas resource acquisitions to secure its raw material supplies and expand its global footprint, a company executive said on Wednesday.

The company will sign an agreement on Friday with Energia y Minerales Sociedad del Estado (EMSE) to set up a joint venture to explore gold mines in Argentina, Ge Yuhuan, vice-general manager of Shandong Gold International Mining Corp Ltd (SGIM), said on the sidelines of a mining conference.

Shandong Gold will take a 51 percent stake in the joint venture and a Hong Kong-based investment company will take a 37 percent stake, while the Argentinean company will take the remaining stake through its mining rights, he said, without revealing financial details.

Apart from the Argentinean project, its joint-venture iron ore mine in Mongolia with explored reserves of 100 million tons, in which Shandong Gold has a 70 percent stake, will start production next year, he said.

SGIM, the group's international unit, founded in September, serves as an international platform to acquire overseas mining resources, and is seeking a listing in Hong Kong, said Ge.

The company will inject mature overseas assets into the listed arm once the listing is arranged, he said.

Shandong Gold plans to invest in overseas mining resources in South America, including Argentina and Peru, and in mature mining countries like Canada and Australia.

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Shandong Gold has been active in making domestic acquisitions. SGIM in May paid 166.6 million yuan ($24.4 million) to acquire the remaining 49 percent stake it did not own in Qingdao-based Xinlai Mining Industry Co Ltd to boost its gold reserves.

The company has five mining bases in Shandong, Hainan, Henan and Qinghai provinces, and Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Bullion output reached 20 tons in 2009, with revenue surpassing 25 billion yuan.

However, the company has been sluggish in making overseas acquisition compared to its peers Zijin Mining Group and China National Gold Group Corporation (CNGGC).

Zijin Mining earlier purchased a gold mine in Tajikistan, and has a stake in a Canadian mining company, while CNGGC acquired Canada-listed Jinshan Gold Mine Inc in 2008.