Chinalco to invest $1.5 bln in rare earth

（Reuters） - Aluminum Corp of China （Chinalco）, the country's top aluminium producer which is expanding to other metals, will take a majority stake in Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group.

State-owned Chinalco, keen to invest in rare earth, would use not less than 10 billion yuan （$1.5 billion） to help the Jiangxi firm develop rare earth resource in the next 3-5 years, Chinalco said in a statement on the company website on Monday.

In March this year, Chinalco said it would support the development of Jiangxi Rare Earth, owned by the provincial government.

The Jiangxi firm is one of China's major tungsten producers and holds rare earth resource in the southern province of Jiangxi.

China is the world's biggest supplier of tungsten and rare earth.

Chinalco recently set up a subsidiary China Rare Metals Rare Earth Company Ltd and aims to be a leader in that sector, according to the same statement.