General discussion, page-196

A Chinese consortium holds a substantial 15% stake in CBMM according to Reuters news published a few years ago-

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Chinese group made up of five state-owned enterprises has paid $1.95 billion for a 15 percent stake in a Brazilian niobium producer, underscoring China’s growing appetite to secure supplies of mineral resources.

The deal values Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao (CBMM), the world’s top niobium producer, at $13 billion and pits the Chinese group against Japanese and South Korean companies that bought a similar-size stake in the Brazilian company earlier this year.

Brazil's Moreira Salles family, which controls Itau Unibanco ITUB4.SA, owned the remaining 30 percent of CBMM and under the terms of the deal, the status quo would be maintained for the time being, a source said.

Niobium is used to strengthen steel and produce superalloys used in cars, oil and gas pipes, bridges and aircraft engines, and to make stainless steel.

The mine owned by CBMM produces 70 percent of the world’s niobium supply, the source added, so the deal would help China secure the future of its steel industry.