Beijing-based Chinese miner China Minmetals Corporation has said that it has recently signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the government of Yongzhou City, Hunan Province to produce rare earth metals and manganese resources in Yongzhou. The company had signed similiar agreements with the government of Zhushan in Hubei and the government of Heyuan in Guangdong.
It is reported that China Minmetals Corporation will invest RMB 2.08 billion ($325 million) to develop further processing and application of rare earth metals in Jianghua County, Yongzhou City by December 2013. The company aims to reach a production value of RMB 10 billion ($1.56 billion) and a profit after tax of RMB 1.5 billion ($234 million) per year by 2015