Minmetals to revise OZ buy terms

China Minmetals, the country's biggest metals trader, is revising its offer for Australia's OZ Minerals in order to secure fresh approval for its bid, which was rejected last week by the Australian government.

Minmetals' previous $1.7-billion proposal to take over the Australian miner was turned down by Australia's Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan who said the proposal cannot be approved if it includes a copper-gold mine close to a weapons-testing site.

"We are now adjusting our proposal for OZ Minerals," Minmetals' spokesman Jiao Jian yesterday told China Daily. He declined to elaborate on the details of the new plan, but said the company was in talks with OZ Minerals to seek a better solution.