China firm in $1.3bn bid for Congo copper miner

Minmetals Resources Ltd, a unit of state-owned China Minmetals Group, on Friday made a $1.28 billion offer for Congolese copper firm Anvil Mining Ltd. The move highlights the willingness of Chinese firms to invest in risky regions -- despite recent dips in commodity prices -- as China seeks further resources to fuel its rapid economic growth. Hong Kong-listed Minmetals Resources valued Anvil's shares at C$8 each ($7.7), the company said in a statement to the city's stock exchange. Minmetals' bid comes despite a 27 percent slump in copper prices -- the metal is often seen as a bell-wether for global economic health as it is widely used in industry. The company also swatted away concerns over mining in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and said China's tight diplomatic relationship with the African country would be key to mitigating risk. "We have visited the DRC as part of our due diligence," chief financial officer David Lamont Lamont told Dow Jones newswires, adding a team visited Anvil's operations ahead of the bid and met with government officials. China has deepened links with resource-rich African nations over recent years as it looks to secure key commodities to feed its breakneck growth. Anvil's Kinsevere mine produced more than 16,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates in 2010, but has targeted a quadrupling of output with the benefit of $400 million investment. If successful, the purchase of Anvil will add considerably to Minmetals's copper portfolio, boosting reserves of the metal by about 75 percent and annual production by some 60,000 tonnes, Lamont said. Copper prices tumbled to a one-year low this week but Lamont said the metal's fundamentals remained strong.