Chinalco boosts copper and titanium exploration

Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco)<601600><2600>, the nation's biggest aluminum and alumina producer, will seek any opportunities to expand into other mineral markets, including copper and titanium.

RMB 30 billion has been invested to expand copper exploration, and the company is negotiating mineral development projects with Russia, Mongolia, Indonesia and Fiji, said the sources.

Chinalco will take a 49% stake in Yunnan Copper Group to boost its output of the metal. It has also purchased US$ 860 million worth of shares of Peru Copper. The two acquisitions are supposed to raise the company's total copper reserve to about 20 million tons.

Moreover, Chinalco has signed a framework agreement with the UK's Aricom PLC to set up a titanium sponge joint venture. With an estimated investment of RMB 2.2 billion, the plant will have a production capacity of 15,000 tons at phase 1 and is expected to raise the capacity to 30,000 tons after the completion of phase 2.

Chinalco's first-half sales increased by 36.2% from the previous year and its net profit was up by 10.8%, supported by a series of takeovers.