Chalco Shares Suspended on 'Important Discussion'

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd., the nation's biggest producer of the metal, suspended its shares from trading pending an announcement on an "important discussion."

Shares of the company that's known as Chalco are expected to resume trading in Hong Kong and Shanghai on July 30, the Beijing-based company said in a statement. Parent Aluminum Corp. of China, also known as Chinalco, said it will hold a signing ceremony tomorrow in Beijing, without giving details.

Chinalco in March signed a non-binding accord to pay $1.35 billion for a stake in Rio Tinto Group's Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. The state-owned company is "watching closely" for opportunities to invest in other overseas projects, including Rio's Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia, Xiong Weiping, chairman of both Chinalco and Chalco, said March 29.

Rio spokesman David Luff didn't return calls to his office or mobile phone. Yuan Li, head of communications with Chinalco, declined to comment on the signing ceremony.

Companies in China, the biggest metals consumer, spent more than $30 billion buying up mines and oil deposits globally last year. Rio is working to repair relations with Chinalco, its largest shareholder, which were soured last year when it scrapped a $19.5 billion investment by the Chinese company and four Rio employees were arrested in Shanghai.

Simandou was described by Rio as the world's "top" undeveloped iron-ore deposit. It has 2.25 billion metric tons of resources, Rio said March 15.

Chinalco is also in talks with Rio to buy a stake in the $4.6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia or the U.K. company's partner in the project, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., London-based Rio said July 7.

--Rebecca Keenan and Helen Yuan. Editors: Tan Hwee Ann, Indranil Ghosh.

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