China Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC) yesterday won a contract to develop an iron ore mine in Australia, the largest mine construction contract awarded to a Chinese company to date.

The agreement with CITIC Pacific Ltd will see MCC construct the SINO Iron Ore Mine in Cape Preston, Western Australia.

The SINO Mine, funded by investment from Hong Kong-based CITIC Pacific Ltd, will mainly extract magnetite ore. Total investment is estimated at US$1.98 billion.

The mine holds large iron ore reserves and has a port nearby, the company said.

The contract will further boost the company's traditional engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) businesses, it said.

"It is the largest mine construction contract awarded to a Chinese company," said a company statement.

MCC has already established a reputation for construction in developing countries. It helped build Pakistan's first non-ferrous mineral development complex, the Saindak Copper Mine.

The company is now ranked 26th on the list of the world's top 225 contractors. It posted 90.1 billion yuan in revenue for 2006, up 30 percent from 2005.

The company has seen 100 percent profit growth year-on-year since 2001. In 2006 MCC's pre-tax profit was 7 billion yuan.

In order to develop overseas business, the company said earlier that it would continue to strengthen its traditional EPC business.

Last year MCC announced the establishment of two subsidiaries, MCC International Incorporation Ltd and MCC Overseas Ltd, to further develop its overseas business.

MCC International Incorporation Ltd will focus on North America, Latin America, the European Union and Africa, while MCC Overseas Ltd will cover Asia, Australia, Russia and Turkey.

The two new companies will be in charge of seeking projects, bidding and seeking investment, while the projects themselves will be built by other MCC subsidiaries.

MCC said the inception of the two companies is a part of the group's restructuring strategy and a milestone in its overseas business development.

Apart from the EPC business, MCC has also taken other measures to further reinforce its other core businesses of resource development, mechanical equipment fabrication and real estate development.

Last year the company changed its name from China Metallurgical Construction (Group) Corp to China Metallurgical Group Corp.

(China Daily January 25, 2007)