Rio Tinto has sold its controlling stake in the Northparkes copper-gold mine in New South Wales to China Molybdenum for $820m, as part of a move to reduce debt.

为了削减债务水平，力拓(Rio Tinto)已将所持澳大利亚新南威尔士州北帕克斯(Northparkes)铜金矿的控股股权出售给了洛阳栾川钼业集团（China Molybdenum，简称洛阳钼业），进账8.2亿美元。

But the Anglo-Australian mining company faced a fresh setback in Mongolia where it announced a delay to the timetable for a $5bn expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, one of the largest projects Rio is developing.

但这家英澳矿业公司在蒙古遭遇了新的挫折。力拓宣布延期执行耗资50亿美元的奥尤陶勒盖(Oyu Tolgoi)铜矿扩建项目。该铜矿是力拓正在开发的最大项目之一。

Rio’s 80 per cent stake in Northparkes is one of several assets intended to be sold as the group tries to protect its prized single-A credit rating.

为了保住其备受珍视的A级信用评级，力拓打算出售多项资产，其所持北帕克斯铜金矿80%的股权便是其中之一。

The purchase is one of the biggest this year by a Chinese company of a mining asset. One of the largest shareholders in China Molybdenum is Chinese private equity group Cathay Fortune, which has been involved in a long-running takeover battle for Discovery Metals, another Australian copper miner. State-owned Luoyang Mining is another large investor in China Molybdenum.

此次交易是中国企业今年完成的规模最大的矿业资产收购案之一。洛阳钼业的大股东之一是中国私人股本集团鸿商产业控股(Cathay Fortune)，后者已对另一家澳大利亚铜矿企业Discovery Metals发起了旷日持久的收购战。国有企业洛阳矿业集团(Luoyang Mining)是洛阳钼业的另一个大股东。

China considers copper, used in almost all electric wiring, a strategic metal.

中国将铜视为一种战略金属。几乎所有的电线都会用到铜。

Chris Lynch, Rio’s chief financial officer, said: “Northparkes is a successful business but is not of sufficient size to be a good fit with our strategy.”

力拓首席财务官克里斯•林奇(Chris Lynch)表示：“北帕克斯铜金矿是一项成功的业务，但其规模不够大，与我们的战略不太相符。”

Rio said it expected the deal, which comes as Glencore Xstrata tries to find a buyer for its $5bn Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, to be completed by the end of the year. It is subject to regulatory approval and conditional on Rio’s joint venture partner in the mine, Sumitomo Corp, waiving its right to match the offer.

力拓表示，预计该交易将在今年年底前完成。与此同时，嘉能可斯特拉塔(Glencore Xstrata)正打算以50亿美元的价格出售位于秘鲁的拉斯邦巴斯(Las Bambas)铜矿。北帕克斯铜金矿交易需要得到监管部门的批准，并且需满足一个前提条件，即力拓在该矿中的合资伙伴住友(Sumitomo Corp)放弃优先购买权。