Galeno ball starts rolling

China Minmetals Corp, a major State-owned metals and mineral trader, expects to begin construction of the Galeno copper mine in Peru next year and production by 2012, the company's assistant president Zhang Shoulian said yesterday.

The Galeno copper mine, purchased jointly by China Minmetals and Jiangxi Copper Co early last year, is believed to have 20 years of mine life and an annual production estimate of 144,000 tons concentrate.