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TIANJIN, China Oct 11 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto
is looking for copper and zinc-lead deposits in four Chinese
regions, including Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, as part of an
exploration venture with state-owned China Minmetals Corp
, a spokeswoman for the Anglo-Australian Miner said on
Friday.
The two companies set up a 50-50 joint venture (JV) to
explore for what they called world-class mineral deposits in
China in June 2018, but it was not previously clear which
minerals they were looking for or which regions they were
targeting.
Technical teams are carrying out field assessments in the
major mineral belts of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, as well as
in China's southwestern Yunnan province and northeastern
Heilongjiang, the Rio spokesperson said in an email.
"The JV is working with partners to secure targets for
testing within these prospective belts."
Mining projects backed by foreign investors are rare in
China, although Ling Yueming, the country's vice minister of
natural resources, told the China Mining conference this week
that steps were being taken to open up the state-dominated
sector and level the playing field for all firms, whether
Chinese or from overseas.
One mining industry source familiar with the copper
exploration programme said Rio was hoping the Southern Gobi
copper-gold belt in Mongolia, which contains its massive Oyu
Tolgoi mine, extended into Inner Mongolia in China.
Also speaking at China Mining, an annual gathering of mining
executives, government officials and equipment manufacturers in
the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, Rio's exploration director
for Australasia, John Kilroe, said on Thursday the company would
welcome further exploration partnerships in China.
(Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
