CNUC buys stake in Namibia mine from Rio Tinto

China National Uranium Corp Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp, announced that it has purchased 68.62 percent of the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia from mining giant Rio Tinto, the company said on Thursday.

"This cooperation will contribute substantially to Namibia in tax contributions, employment, business opportunities and in-depth cooperation for future China-Africa cooperation," said He Zixing, the vice-president of CNNC which is one of the country's largest nuclear power companies.

Zhu Yi, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the cooperation could help the Chinese company's overseas expansion, as the deal allows CNUC access to the market of the Rossing mine in Namibia, the fourth largest uranium mine worldwide in capacity and also the world's longest-running open pit uranium mine.