On July 14, the signing ceremony for the strategic cooperation framework agreement on Caoxian Coal Mine Project was held between China Minmetals Corporation and Shandong Heze Municipal Government. President Zhou Zhongshu of China Minmetals Corporation, Secretary Zhao Runtian of Heze Municipal Committee of CPC, and President Shi Lin of Top-win Investment Group attended the signing ceremony, which was hosted by Senior Vice President Li Fuli of Minmetals. The agreement was signed by Liu Yong (Deputy Mayor of Heze Municipal Government) and Wang Jionghui (Assistant President of China Minmetals Corporation and General Manager of Minmetals Exploration & Development Co., Ltd.) on behalf of each party.

In his speech, Secretary Zhao Runtian said Heze City was an underdeveloped area in Shandong, so resources development was a strong driving force for promoting local economy. The municipal government attaches great importance to introducing exploration and development entities for Caoxian Coal Mine. China Minmetals Corporation is an enterprise directly under central government. Through communication and negotiation, Heze City has finally decided to introduce Minmetals as the exploration and development party for Caoxian Coal Mine and is convinced that the project will be a great contributor to the local economy.

President Zhou gave a brief introduction to the operation and development of Minmetals and stressed that Heze City is rich in resources with reserves of various mineral resources. The Caoxian Coal Mine Project has great potential for development as one of the large integrated coking coal mine discovered in recent years with strong resources potentials. It is hoped that all parties join hands to develop the project into a key resources base in China through which the local economy can also be boosted.

The persons in charge of the relevant functional departments of Minmetals also attended the signing ceremony.