MMG, the overseas non-ferrous metals mining unit of state-owned China Minmetals, will consider as acquisition targets only assets and projects with at least a 10% return, even though it enjoys low financing costs thanks to its parent firm’s connections. Andrew Michelmore, Chief Executive of Hong Kong-listed MMG, said the company is mainly looking for copper and zinc mining projects that are either in production or at an advanced stage of construction. The firm mines for zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold in Australia and copper in Laos and the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We need to add shareholder value, which means we need something that gives us a return greater than our average cost of capital,” he told the South China Morning Post. MMG would likely not acquire any project smaller than the Kinsevere copper project in Congo, which it bought for USD1.36 billion in early 2012, he said. Michelmore confirmed MMG has been in talks to buy into Switzerland-based commodities trading major Glencore Xstrata’s Las Bambas copper mining project in Peru, but no binding agreement has been reached. It has formed a consortium together with Guoxin International Investment Corp and CITIC Metal Co to bid for the stake in the Las Bambas project. The sale of one of Glencore Xstrata’s major copper projects by September 30 is a condition for China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to approve Glencore’s merger with Xstrata, which was subject to antitrust approval by the central government. Beijing is concerned the merger would increase Glencore and Xstrata’s control over the supply of copper and hurt the interests of Chinese customers. The country has to import copper to meet some 70% of its demand, of which just over 40% is from the electricity sector. China Minmetals Vice President Li Fuli said the company is already the largest Chinese copper resource holder, controlling close to 10 million tons, of which the biggest project is in Peru. Since 2004, China Minmetals has been seeking overseas resources like copper, aluminum, iron ore, lead and zinc, for which China has to import about 70% of its demand.