Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), the nation's top aluminum
producer, will pair with London-listed Aricom Plc to set up a
titanium sponge project in Heilongjiang province.
Chinalco will hold a 35 percent stake and Aricom 65 percent in
the $300 million joint venture.
The plant, located in Jiamusi, a city in the province's north,
is expected to have an annual capacity of 15,000 tons of titanium
sponge after assuming full commissioning in 2009, Chinalco said in
a statement.
The two sides have completed a feasibility study for the project
and are waiting for approval from China's environment protection
body, the National Development and Reform Commission and the
commerce ministry.
Aricom will supply ilmenite, the ore from which titanium sponge
is made, from its Kuranakh mine at Amur in Russia's east, 1,300 km
from Jiamusi, Aricom said on its website.
Construction of the plant will be funded over three years on a
70 percent debt-equity ratio, and some Chinese banks will likely
finance the debt portion, Aricom said.
Industry analysts predict titanium, a tough and lightweight
metal widely used in airplanes and golf clubs, will see surging
demand in China in the years to come.
Titanium sponge is the basic form of titanium.
Chinalco paid $860 million yuan for 91 percent of Peru Copper
Inc last August, which has exploration rights to the nation's
Toromocho copper mine with estimated reserves of about 12 million
tons of copper equivalent.
(China Daily January 25, 2008)
