Chinese giant takes Albanian copper
19/05/2014 00:00
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After a financial operation held in Turkey, most of the Albanian copper
reserves went under the ownership of the Chinese mining giant, “Jiangxi
Copper”.
The news was confirmed for Top Channel by official sources of the Ministry of Energy. A few days ago, the Chinese Company bought 50% of the “Nesco Metal” shares in Turkey, which owns 100% of the “Beralb” company, given by the Albanian government in concession for the most important copper resources, such as the Munella, Lakroshi and Karma mines, together with the Enriching Plant in Fushe Arrez.
Copper is considered as the second most important metal in Albania, although this industry has been damaged by the slowdown of international markets and internal problems. According to official data, the Albanian copper exports in the past four years have fluctuated from 30 to 40 million USD each year, 87% of which coming from Munella.
Giving these reserves to the Chinese increases the chances for a revival of the copper industry in Albania. “Jiang Xi” is owned by the Chinese government, and it is ranked second largest in the world for the copper production. Last year it was considered 414th among 500 big companies in the world, with an annual turnover of 28 billion USD, twice the GDP of Albania.
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