BHP Closes Beijing Office, Halts Exploration in China

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, will shut its Beijing office this month as it halted exploration of metal deposits in China.

China ``has not been a core focus of our exploration,'' said spokeswoman Samantha Evans from the Melbourne headquarters. BHP will keep a marketing office in Shanghai.

BHP has been exploring in China for 15 years for major deposits of iron ore, copper and coal to meet surging demand in the Asian country. China is the single largest customer nation for BHP Billiton.

China's government last year revised some rules that could restrict foreigners from investing in copper, lead, zinc and other base metal mines, to protect what it regards as scarce resources.

``We failed to find large, low-cost and long reserve-life resources in China,'' Frank Xu, a Beijing-based BHP corporate affairs official, said today by phone. He declined to comment on government policies and said the closure is an ``administrative adjustment.''

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