Iron ore explorer Centrex Metals Ltd
(ASX:CXM) says the Foreign Investment Review Board has approved the investment by China’s Baotou Iron & Steel Company to acquire up to 50% of its proposed iron ore joint venture with Centrex for the Bungalow magnetite deposit.
Baotou will pay a total of $40 million into a joint venture account to earn a 50% interest in the iron ore rights to Centrex’s mineral tenement EL3610 located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
Centrex has announced a series of investments and government consents in the recent past which it says will help the company to become a major player, over time, in Australia’s iron ore industry.
The company says it has been in discussions for many months and it is very pleasing that Centrex and Baotou can now accelerate exploration at Bungalow.
The Chinese company says it is now applying to China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange to approve the remittance of funds.
Looking at the past five years Centrex Metals is yet to post a net profit.
