Jan. 24, 2008 (China Knowledge) - China Minmetals, the nation's major metal producer, was ranked No. 435 among the Fortune 500 companies in 2007, market sources reported.

The turnover and profits of China Minmetals reached US$21.8 billion and RMB 6.8 billion in 2007. Its resource reserves include 604 million tons of iron ore, 250 million tons of coke and 410,000 tons of tungsten. It can supply annually 11 million tons of rolled steel, 4.1 million tons of coal, 800,000 tons of coke, 145,000 tons of electrolytic copper and 700,000 tons of alumina.

In the field of ferrous metal, China Minmetals remained the top steel trader of the nation and sped up the development of its upstream industrial chain. In the iron exploration in Anhui province, it has controlled 100 million tons of magnetite and 30 million tons of pyrite.

In the field of nonferrous metal, China Minmetals cooperated with Jiangxi Copper Corp<600362> to purchase 100% stake of Northern Peru Copper Corp (Canada), and set up joint venture with the U.S. Century Aluminum Corp in Jamaica to acquire the mining right for 150 million tons of bauxite. Its alumina project in Guangxi Province has annual output of 400,000 tons, which is the country's largest alumina project in both the scale and the investment.