Hi guys been doing a bit of web trawling and came across this admittedly dated 2007 article. Nevertheless interesting as it spells out some of Chairman Luo's plan which 4 years on is progressing nicely. Our dragon will not be hurried, so patience is required.
In this article there is talk of a PNG acquisition and an Australian Smelter for what...Copperflats? I've held this stock for nearly 2 years and never heard anything mentioned along these lines.
Now it turned out CF was put on backburner, but so what. As I've said before GRAM aren't stupid and have already invested a tidy sum in this project.
They would have done their due diligence. And Luo might still built that smelter.
18th August 2007
"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.(Let's hope so anyway!-Oscar)
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.
CNMC has three core businesses. The first is development of non-ferrous metal resources, including geological work, mining, ore dressing and refining. Second is contract engineering services for non-ferrous metal projects. "We have built many plants for copper, alumina, zinc and lead."
The third plank is trade and technical services. Luo has previously said that the company will use the world's most mature and environmentally-friendly technologies in its overseas projects, to meet international standards."