It was reported earlier that a Chinese group made up of five state owned enterprises has paid USD 1.95 billion for a 15% stake in a Brazilian niobium producer and underscoring China growing appetite to secure supplies of mineral resources.

Baosteel said in a statement that the consortium consists of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd, CITIC Group, Anshan Iron & Steel Group Corp, Shougang Corp and Taiyuan Iron & Steel Group Co Ltd.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Chinese consortium was being advised by UBS AG.

The official Xinhua news agency reported on the deal on Thursday.

According to a CBMM statement Brazil holds the largest proven niobium reserves in the world. Global demand for the metal grew by about 10% annually during 2002-2009.

The move by the Chinese consortium follows a similar move by Japanese and South Korean companies earlier this year.

(Sourced from Reuters)