It is reported that Sichuan Province is offering to sell an 80% stake in Hui-Dong Lead & Zinc Mine for RMB 2.04 billion to any state-owned or state-controlled enterprise with a registered capital exceeding RMB 1 billion and net assets exceeding RMB 2 billion.

The buyer must make a lump sum payment. Buyers that have gone into debt at any time in the past three years are not eligible.

An senior officer of the bureau of commerce in Huidong County, Liangshan, Sichuan Province, predicted that Western Mining Co Ltd, which last year inked a cooperative agreement with the local government to develop lead zinc ore in Huidong, will probably buy the asset.

Hui-Dong Lead & Zinc Mine, which was established in 1958 with a registered capital of RMB 50.92 million, had 11.56 million tons of ore as of Jan. 30, 2009, including 1.14 million tons of zinc and 88,000 tons of lead.