Xu Lejiang, the president of Chinese steel giant Baosteel Group, has said the company plans to participate in the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, in which Australian miner Rio Tinto and Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) have invested.
Mr Xu stated that, as Chinalco is just an iron ore trader, Rio Tinto is inclined to seek a steelmaking company as a collaborator.
The Simandou iron ore project is the world's largest iron ore mining project with the total investment expected to exceed $10 billion, as stated by Rio Tinto. The mine is expected to come on stream by 2015. In the next three to five years, Chinalco plans to invest $1.35 billion in the project, acquiring a 44.65 percent stake in the project.