Australian mining company Metals X said that Jinchuan Group Limited will not participate in the second round of bidding for the Ravensthorpe nickel mine of BHP Billiton.

JNMC is the second largest shareholder of Metals X, holding a 14.8% stake in the latter. JNMC considers Metals X's Wingellina nickel mine to be of more invest-worth than the Ravensthorpe mine.

Metals X has also appointed Mr Zhang Sanlin vice GM of JNMC to replace Mr Wang Wei as Metals X's director. JNMC holds a membership position on Metals X's board.

JNMC is China's largest nickel and cobalt production base. It has an annual production capacity of 130,000 tonnes of nickel, 200,000 tonnes of copper, 6,000 tonnes of cobalt, 8,000 kilograms of platinum group metals and 1,200,000 tons of chemical products.

Earlier, China Metallurgical Group Corporation, another state owned enterprise of China, was reported as a participant in the bidding for the Ravensthorpe nickel mine, unconfirmed by the group.

(Sourced from Xinhua)