According to local sources, the Yunnan provincial government and China Minmetals are set to finalise a deal that will deepen the ties between the two organisations. This could result in China Minmetals becoming the majority shareholder of the Yunnan Tin Group (Holding) Company (YTC).
On 16 June, YTC issued a notice announcing that “the increasing cooperation between the Yunnan government and China Minmetals may lead to changes in control”, although the deal is yet to be finalised. The potential merger is expected to be completed by October this year.
China Minmetals, founded in 1950, originally dealt with the trade of metal commodities, but has developed across the supply chain following a series of acquisitions and mergers. The company owns mines across the base metals space, including the Las Bambas Copper Mine, the Dugald River Zinc Mine, and the Papua New Guinea Ramu Nickel and Cobalt Mine. Headquartered in Beijing, Minmetals manages overseas institutions, resource projects, and construction projects located in more than 60 countries and regions across the world. YTC has consistently ranked as China’s, and the world’s, largest refined tin producer for the last 15 years, comprising around 22% of global refined tin production.
