China Minmetals Says Plans to Double Profit by 2015

Bloomberg Jan 20---China Minmetals Corp., the nation’s biggest metals trader, plans to more than double profit by 2015 as it expands output and speeds up acquisitions of rare earths and minor metals.

Profit is targeted to rise to 15 billion yuan （$2.3 billion） from 7 billion yuan last year, the Beijing-based company said in an e-mailed statement today, without saying whether it’s before or after tax.

Minmetals wants to become the world’s largest zinc and lead producer, betting on a continuation of strong domestic and international demand. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. today raised its price estimates for copper, aluminum, lead, nickel and zinc through 2013, citing an “ongoing up view” of China, the largest metals user, and improving developed markets.

State-owned Minmetals will spend at least 4.5 billion yuan over five years to explore for rare earths, tungsten, tin and bismuth in Hunan province, state-run Xinhua News Agency said on May 19. It aims to boost sales to 400 billion yuan in 2015 from 225 billion yuan last year, according to the statement.

Minmetals completed the acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Hunan Nonferrous Metals Holding Group Co. last year, adding to the $1.4 billion it spent to acquire zinc assets in Australia from OZ Minerals Ltd. in June 2009.

Minmetals owns China’s largest deposits of tungsten, antimony and medium, heavy rare earths, and is the biggest producers of these metals, which are regarded by the government as strategic commodities.

The government limits production and exports of rare earths and minor metals including tungsten and antimony, to reduce pollution and gain pricing power. Minmetal’s tungsten resources rose to 2.1 million metric tons by 2010, the statement said.

Minmetals traded more than 20 million tons of steel and produced more than 40 million tons of iron concentrates last year, according to the statement. Lead and zinc smelting capacity reached 850,000 tons, the biggest in China.

The company had 12 million tons of copper resources and 27 million tons of lead and zinc resources as of last year, it said.