Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Aluminum Corp. of China, parent of the nation's biggest producer of the metal, plans to buy more overseas copper mining companies to meet rising domestic demand and help diversify earnings.

The Beijing-based company plans to ``make moves on several firms listed on overseas markets'' and may make an announcement this month, Xiao Yaqing, chairman of the state-owned company, also known as Chinalco, told reporters yesterday. Chinalco bought Peru Copper Inc. for $860 million in August.

Mining companies in China are likely to buy metal deposits and oilfields in Africa, Latin America and Australia to feed demand, Citigroup Inc. said this month. The nation needs more commodities to fuel growth and almost doubled copper imports in the first nine months of this year.

``China wants a large state-owned, metal and mining firm to secure supplies to meet its surging demand,'' Heng Kun, an analyst at Essence Securities Co., said in Beijing. ``Xiao's ambition is to fulfill that role and overseas acquisitions are obviously the quickest way.''

Vancouver-based Peru Copper owns Peru's third-largest deposit of the metal used to make wires and pipes. Chinalco also agreed this year to buy a 49 percent stake in Yunnan Copper Group, which owns China's third-biggest producer.

``We hope to acquire more copper resources because this is where China is short,'' Chinalco's Xiao said.

Domestic Companies

There are no immediate plans to buy more copper companies in China, Xiao said. The stock gains of overseas mining companies may make an acquisition ``difficult,'' he said.

China Minmetals Corp., the nation's biggest metals trader, plans to buy more copper resources overseas, a company executive said Sept. 6. Anshan Iron & Steel Group, China's third-largest steelmaker, this year agreed to a A$1.8 billion ($1.6 billion) joint venture with Australia's Gindalbie Metals Ltd. to develop two iron ore projects.

Chinalco is the parent of listed Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the country's largest producer of the light metal used in packaging and aircraft parts. The publicly traded unit, also known as Chalco, posted its first profit decline in five years in August.

Chalco rose 0.48 yuan, or 1 percent, to 51.20 yuan at 1:35 p.m. in Shanghai.

Copper prices have rallied 24 percent this year, partly as demand from China helped shrink reserves. London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months was little changed at $7,865 a metric ton at 9:48 a.m. Shanghai time, after falling as much as 1.9 percent yesterday.

Chinalco plans to spend more on copper production to diversify away from aluminum output, Xiao said. It's also boosting exploration spending for other minerals including titanium and magnesium, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Xiao Yu in Beijing at yxiao@bloomberg.net: William Bi in Beijing at wbi@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 19, 2007 01:50 EDT