State-owned Guangdong Guangsheng Nonferrous Metals Group has obtained China Securities Regulatory Commission approval to list its tungsten and rare earth assets on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a share-asset swap with Shanghai-listed Hainan Xingye Polyester Co. Ltd., the listed chemical processor announced on Sept. 2.

According to the company's back-door listing plan, Guangsheng Nonferrous will sell its interests in 14 tungsten and rare earth-related subsidiaries, worth approximately RMB 267.66 million ($39.13 million), in return for 36 million new shares issued by Xingye Polyester at a per- share price of RMB 6.68 ($0.98) and the entire assets of Xingye Polyester, which will be further traded for a total of 88.76 million shares held by three Xingye Polyester shareholders.

Upon completion of the share-asset swap, Guangsheng Nonferrous will hold a total of 124.76 million shares, or a controlling 50.02 percent stake, in Xingye Polyester.

Through the share-asset swap, the listed company will obtain various assets held by Guangsheng Nonferrous' 14 subsidiaries, including five tungsten mines, which contain a combined 1.15 million tons of tungsten ore reserves and are expected to produce a combined 1,400 tons of tungsten dioxide grading 65 percent in concentrate form this year, as well as two rare earth mines, which are expected to produce approximately 1,000 tons of rare earth dioxide in 2008.

"Guangsheng Nonferrous currently holds two mining rights in Meizhou City's Pingyuan county to a combined 11,600 tons worth of rare earth dioxide reserves, and intends to acquire the remaining two rare earth mining rights in Guangdong Province – in Shaoguan City's Xinfeng county and Heyuan City – to become the province's sole official rare earth miner," an official with Pingyuan Huaqi Rare Earth Industrial Co. Ltd., a Guangsheng Nonferrous rare earth subsidiary, told Interfax.

The official said Guangsheng Nonferrous also plans to construct two rare earth smelting bases in Xinfeng and Heyuan, and a rare earth processing facility in Heyuan.

Guangsheng Nonferrous also plans to further secure its tungsten reserves through deep exploration and acquisitions, and construct tungsten processing facilities that produce high value-added tungsten products.

In addition to the tungsten and rare earth assets, Guangsheng Nonferrous also owns exploration rights to the Shilu copper deposit and the Houpo'ao silver deposit, both the largest of their kind in Guangdong Province. The company is applying for mining rights to the copper deposit, while continuing a feasibility study on the development of the silver deposit.

State-owned Guangdong Guangsheng Asset Management Co. Ltd., Guangsheng Nonferrous' parent, also controls Shenzhen-listed Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co. Ltd., which specializes in lead and zinc mining and smelting. – Interfax