China’s largest aluminum producer, Chinalco (3668.HKG), has dropped out of the race to buy commodities trader Glencore Xstrata’s (GLEN.LON, 0805.HKG) Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, Reuters reported, leaving Minmetals as the frontrunner. Glencore agreed to sell Las Bambas this year to secure approval from China’s competition authorities for its takeover of miner Xstrata because Beijing feared the merged group would have too much power over the copper market. Given China’s copper demand and cash-rich state-owned enterprises, it was assumed that Las Bambas would have a Chinese buyer ever since it was put on the block.
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