Chinese sign on to $5b mine project

A TERRITORY mining company has sealed a deal with a large Chinese mineral explorer.

NT Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis said the agreement was part of a growing trend.

He looked on as TNG signed an agreement with Ao-Zhong International Mineral Resources, a subsidiary of the East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau.

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The $13.4 million pact will help drive exploration at a project which is independently estimated to be worth $5 billion.

TNG is searching for iron, vanadium and titanium at Mt Peake, 80km north of Alice Springs.

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The company last month increased the resource estimate to 160 million tonnes.

Mt Peake holds one of the largest vanadium deposits in Australia. Twenty-one Chinese companies have invested in mineral exploration in the Territory during the past five years. Mr Vatskalis said he expected the number to rise sharply.

He said the way to the TNG agreement was smoothed by the Northern Territory Government as part of the Chinese Investment Attraction Strategy.

The Minister said the deal meant the Mt Peake project was on track for commercial development - and also teed up further opportunities for investment through Ao-Zhong's newly-established Darwin office.

"There is increasing national and international acknowledgment of the benefits of investing in the Territory," he said.

"We're resource-rich, investment-ready, and well supported through existing infrastructure."

Vanadium is used in the manufacture of titanium alloys in jet engines, airframes and other high-end specialty materials, and in the chemical industry in batteries, plastic, glass and pigments.

The signing ceremony was a big deal in itself - a large media pack filmed and photographed the event, which was overseen by China's Land and Resources vice-minister Wang Mi.

Mr Vatskalis said that "harnessing the opportunities presented by the resources boom" meant the NT Government was "on track" to achieve the 2030 goals.

"And that means more opportunities