On January 7, China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) signed a conditional strategic agreement to buy a 12.5 percent stake for UK£152.6 million pounds (RMB 1.67 billion) in African Minerals, a London-listed mineral exploration and development company with significant iron ore and base metal interests in Sierra Leone.
At present, African Minerals is developing its Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone, with the first phase investment totaling $300 million.
Based on the agreement, CRM will import 5-8 million mt of hematite from African Minerals on a yearly basis from 2011 for at least 20 years: moreover, starting from 2013, CRM may also import 10 million mt of magnetite iron ore from this company.