Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd, a leading gold producer in China, has acquired a 75 percent stake in a Tajikistan gold firm after it wholly purchased a British company that owns a 75-percent stake in the firm.

The Xinjiang branch of Zijin Mining Group bought out Commonwealth & British Minerals Limited for 170 million U.S. dollars and acquired a 75-percent stake in Tajikistan's Zeravshan Gold Corporation (ZGC), according to sources with the Xinjiang company.

The deal has been approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission, the company said.

Zijin Mining Group's Xinjiang branch said it planned to expand the annual ore production capacity of ZGC's gold mine from 1.65 million tons to 3 million tons.

Based in Longyan city, east China's Fujian Province, Hong Kong-listed Zijin Mining Group produced 49.28 tons of gold last year, accounting for about 20 percent of the country's total output. It has set up 88 subsidiary companies in more than 20 provinces across China and seven countries.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2007)