China International Trust and Investment Corp. (CITIC), China��s largest financial conglomerate, was expected to visit an Australian mine project later this week, a sign of its interest in bidding for a stake in either the project or its owner, industry sources said Wednesday.

The Chinese company was the latest company to express an interest in WMC Resources Ltd., which owns the Olympic Dam mine project and faces a 7.4-billion-Australian-dollar (US$9.8 billion) takeover bid by Swiss-based Xstrata Plc.

WMC, which is fighting the "hostile" bid as it describes, has said it will host visitors with proposals that will "add value" to the copper and uranium project.

CITIC had been interested in owning overseas mining assets and might seriously look for a stake in either WMC or the project, analysts said.

The financial giant has already bought a 22.5 percent stake in an aluminum smelter in Portland, Oregon, the United States.

CITIC's industrial investments cover infrastructure facilities, raw materials, energy, transportation, telecommunications, automotives and real estate. Its Australian unit, CITIC Australia Trading Ltd., exports aluminum and steel products, fertilizer, as well as copper and iron ore to China.

Earlier reports said that another two Chinese miners, China Minmetals Corp. and Jinchuan Group, had also visited the WMC project.

WMC and Jinchuan already have a joint venture to explore for metals in West China, and WMC has pledged to supply Jinchuan with 120,000 tons of nickel-in-matte from 2005 to 2010.

Other parties interested in the mine project may include Inco Ltd., BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Plc., Phelps Dodge Corp. and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA.

Xstrata��s bid is expected to close Jan. 28. JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Gresham Partners are advising Xstrata, while UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. are advising WMC.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies