put your hand in the air, page-11

Not sure if this has been listed here but,
this is what Ord could become!

Australia is the first developed country in which CNMC has a joint venture. It has an 18.5 per cent stake in the junior mining house, Ord River Resources, whose biggest ticket is Copper Flats, claimed to be the richest find in Western Australia.

CNMC wants Ord River to fast-track exploration, now under way, and to go into production soon. Luo says the advantage of partnering with CNMC is that it can open the door to the huge Chinese market for Ord River.

"We have good co-operation between us and we now plan to extend that co-operation outside Australia," he says. Luo sees the prospect of using Australia's deep capital market to raise funds for development of its projects in, for example, Laos. "Ord is a competent and credit-worthy company," he says. Ord River raised AUD20 million from the Australian capital market for the initial working capital required for Copper Flats and other Ord River projects.

Another likely CNMC-Ord joint venture could be in Papua New Guinea. Ord is hoping to secure rights to Bougainville copper mine development when Papua New Guinea settles down after its recent general election. It also has exploration rights for gold in the Northern Territory. "Australia is one of our destinations for investment because it has good mineral resources, a mature capital market and a well-developed legal framework for investment, says Luo. In Ord, we have found a good strategic partner."

CNMC has its own design and research institutes as well as its own engineering team. "We have expertise in mining and smelting, and we are ready to offer our services to our partners." When asked if he plans to eventually build a smelter in Australia, Luo replies: "I believe we will not down the track, but actually in the near future. It will depend on the speed with which the mine is developed. "As for our plans for production, these are under discussion," he says, declining to offer details saying that both CNMC and Ord River are listed companies and therefore limited to what they can say publicly.

For the rest

http://www.asiatoday.com.au/feature_reports.php?id=279