Rio Tinto, Minmetals Ink JV Deal for Mineral Exploration in China

Last week Rio Tinto announced a new 50-50 joint venture with Beijing-based Minmetals, a partnership that will seek to explore “world-class mineral deposits” in China.
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According to a Rio Tinto release, the registered capital of the joint venture amounts to $31.3 million, plus initial contributions of $5.5 million by both Rio Tinto and Minmetals within six months of the establishment of the joint venture.
“The formalisation of the exploration joint venture is an important milestone in our growing partnership with China and Minmetals, who is an increasingly important player in the global mining industry,” Rio Tinto CEO J-S Jacques said in a prepared statement. “Our complementary strengths in exploration put us in the best possible position to find metals and minerals essential to human progress.”
China Minmetals Corporation President Guo Wenqing underscored the parties’ complementary expertise.
“The collaboration is very significant to Minmetals,” he said. “Rio Tinto has rich prospecting experience and great discoveries worldwide, while Minmetals has solid technical expertise and extensive experience – the two strong partners will drive breakthroughs, pioneer progress, and promote the exchanges and collaboration of the global resource industry.”
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The parties signed a Technical Collaboration Agreement in November 2017.