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Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corp, the mainland's biggest zinc and tungsten producer, will seal  mining acquisition deals worth at least five billion yuan (HK$5.48 billion) in the first half of the year, according to chairman He Renchun.
The Changsha-based metal producer would team up with Kerry Holdings, Yunnan Enterprises Holdings and other partners to invest in the projects, Mr He said in an interview yesterday.
'We will conclude some big acquisition deals in the first half, both in China and overseas.'
The projects would include zinc, lead, tungsten and molybdenum mines, Mr He said, without providing the reserves of the targeted mines.
The acquisitions  would boost the company's metals reserves significantly and thus  increase the company's self-sufficiency in ores.
Mr He did not name the targets but said the overseas projects would be in Australia and Canada.
The H-share company said in December last year that it aimed to sell as many as one billion  A shares in Shanghai. The plan is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
While the timing of the A-share listing was uncertain,  Mr He said this would not affect  the company's mining acquisitions.
'We'll team up with other partners other than our strategic partners such as Kerry and Yunnan Enterprises. Many investment funds and companies are also interested in taking part in those deals,' he said.
'We will also fund the acquisitions by bank borrowings.  Money is not a problem.'
Based on its H-share closing price of HK$3.66  yesterday, Hunan Nonferrous would raise about 3.6 billion yuan from the A-share listing.
Hunan Nonferrous said in November last year that it would set up a US$100 million joint venture with Kerry, the ultimate controlling shareholder of the South China Morning Post, to invest in the development and exploration of global metal resources.
The Hunan-based company owns 62 per cent of the venture.
Last month, Hunan Nonferrous  said it had entered into a co-operative framework agreement with Hong Kong-listed red-chip company Yunnan Enterprises and its parent Tianda Group to set up a joint venture to develop the nonferrous metal resources business in five northwestern provinces  - Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia - as well as resources projects in Australia.
Mainland companies are chasing overseas  resources amid soaring commodity prices.
Earlier this year,  Chinalco bought a 12 per cent stake in global mining giant Rio Tinto for US$14 billion with aluminium producer Alcoa of the United States.
Other state-owned companies, such as China Minmetals Corp, Jiangxi Copper and Sinosteel Corp, have also expressed ambitions to buy mining assets overseas.



Hunan Nonferrous closes in on 5b yuan mine deals