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6 China's central government standpoint on mining industry decentralization has evolved through the reform era. While in the 1990s central planning was relaxed and companies at different levels were allowed to pursue autonomous economic targets, there is a more recent trend towards consolidation in order to phase out inefficient mining town and village enterprises and create a group of national champions capable of competing with leading global mining giants. Huaichuan, Rui, “Development, transition and globalization in China's coal industry,” Development and Change, Vol. 36, No. 4 (2005), pp. 691–710Google Scholar.

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27 Including data on exploration could distort the information. For example, 111 Chinese companies hold exploration licences in Botswana, while at the time of the research no Chinese company was known to have projects for the construction of a mine in the country. http://www.afrik-news.com/article15849.html.

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29 Ibid.

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44 Ibid.

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59 http://www.chinalco.com/chinalco/about/strategy_overview/.

60 Ibid.

61 Interview with an employee in a Chinese mining firm, Lima, April 2011.

62 Interview with an employee in a Chinese mining firm, Lima, April 2011.

63 Raw Materials database.

64 Interview with Ninjinzhao's general manager in Peru, Lima, March 2011.

65 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/218876/20110923/did-china-break-the-iron-ore-cartel-maybe-not.htm.

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