Jiangxi Copper, the largest mainland producer of the metal, said it will spend RMB10bn over the next five years to expand smelting capacity by two-thirds and upgrade existing plants to meet demand, the Standard of Hong Kong reported. The world's seventh-largest copper producer had earlier said it aimed at raising production capacity from 400,000 to 700,000 tonnes by 2007, but the company's management said Wednesday the targeted timeline will now be 2009. The planned expenditure will be funded equally through internal resources and other financing measures such as bank loans, said company chairman He Changming.