Group closes in on takeover bid

Zijin Consortium, a group of Chinese companies that includes the nation's biggest copper smelter, said shareholders representing more than half the voting rights in London-based Monterrico Metals Plc have agreed to its takeover offer.

Zijin has acceptances from investors representing 13.2 million shares, or 50.2 percent, of Monterrico, Zijin said yesterday. Its offer will remain open until April 27.

Monterrico's Rio Blanco copper project in Peru has the potential to produce an estimated 191,000 metric tons of copper a year, Bloomberg News reported.

China is the world's largest consumer of the metal, used in wiring and plumbing.

Shares of Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd, part of Zijin Consortium, were suspended from trading in Hong Kong pending a statement, company official Fan Cheung Man said yesterday.

Source:Shanghai Daily