Aluminum Corp. of China (Chinalco) and Australia's Rio Tinto Friday agreed to establish a joint venture to explore mineral resources in China.
Chinalco will have a controlling 51 percent stake in the venture and Rio will hold the rest, said Chinalco president Xiong Weiping.
He said the joint venture is expected to go into operation in the first half of 2011.
Rio will appoint the chief executive of the new venture and Chinalco will nominate the chairman of the five-member board.
Chinalco is the country's top producer of aluminum while Rio Tinto is one of the world's top three iron ore suppliers.
