A state-run Chinese mining company said Thursday it has agreed to buy the Itaminas iron ore mine in Brazil from its owner, Bernardo de Mello, according to AP. The East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau, based in Nanjing, said it had bargained the asking price for the mine _ which produces 3 million tons of high-grade iron ore a year _ down to $1.22 billion from the original $2 billion. «This is indeed an astronomical figure, but it's precisely because of the mine's advantages,» the Chinese company said in a statement. China views access to iron ore supplies as a strategic priority, given the reliance of its steel industry on imports. The country imported 630 million tons of iron ore in 2009, up nearly 42 percent from the year before, and the government has been complaining that soaring costs are harming steel mills. Chinese mining companies have followed the example of energy groups in hunting for overseas assets to expand their resource base. The East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau is owned by Jiangsu province, one of China's wealthiest regions, near Shanghai.
