Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s biggest producer of the metal, posted a 158 percent increase in second- half profit because of rising copper demand and higher prices.

Net income rose to 2.79 billion yuan ($425 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31 from 1.11 billion yuan a year earlier. The result was derived by deducting the six-month figures from full-year profit released today on the Shanghai stock exchange, based on international accounting standards.

Chinese copper demand will gain 7 percent this year as the nation builds more homes, autos and upgrades power-grid networks, Chairman Li Yihuang said in March. Copper touched a record $10,190 a ton in February after surging 30 percent last year.

Shares in the company fell 2.3 percent to close at 39.55 yuan in Shanghai today, before the announcement. The stock was unchanged at HK$24.65 in Hong Kong.

Full-year net income more than doubled to 4.91 billion yuan in 2010 by Chinese accounting standards, Jiangxi Copper said. Net was 4.99 billion yuan by international standards, beating the 4.7 billion yuan mean estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales rose 48 percent to 76.4 billion yuan.

The company plans to boost copper smelting production capacity to 1 million metric tons this year, from 900,000 tons last year, Li said in March.

China’s Henan Xichuan Aluminum has raised its primary smelting capacity to 200,000 mt/year, which is an increase of 54% from its previous capacity of 130,000 mt/year, a company source said Wednesday.

“The government’s power rationing in the fourth quarter of last year kept us from raising capacity then, but the situation has improved and we’ve started up all the potlines this month and have now reached full capacity,” the source said.

The company now expects to produce about 170,000 mt of aluminum in 2011, which is a sharp jump of 70% from the 100,000 mt achieved in 2010.

“Actual output last year was also affected by the power issues at the year-end,” the source said.

Henan Xichuan sources alumina feed for its smelting operations from Henan refiners, on both a term and spot contract basis.

China’s overseas mining deals fell to $4.5 billion last year because of increased rivalry from India and Brazil, Ernst & Young LLP said.

The drop from a record $10 billion of deals in 2009 reflects “tougher” competition for Chinese investment, Eleanor Wu, an Ernst & Young partner on transaction advisory services, told reporters today in Beijing, after releasing a report on China’s mining acquisitions for 2010.

India surpassed China for the first time in 2010 with $4.6 billion overseas deals, mainly in coking coal, the report said. China’s deals included Jinchuan Group Ltd.’s $878 million takeover of South African platinum explorer Wesizwe Platinum Ltd., and China Railway Construction Corp. group’s C$679 million ($696 million) purchase of Canada’s Corriente Resources Inc.

“We expect sustained and moderate growth this year in Chinese outbound deals because of the imbalance of supply, shortage of resources and the country’s economic growth,” Wu said, without giving a forecast.

Global mining and energy deals are poised for the biggest first quarter since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Global mining deals rose 89 percent to $113.7 billion in 2010, according to the Ernst & Young report.

Chinese investors shifted focus from Australia and Canada to higher-risk destinations including Brazil, Ecuador and Africa, targeting exploration companies, Paul Murphy, head of Asia Pacific Mining & Metals at Ernst & Young, said today.

Mining deals in China, including outbound and inbound, dropped 20 percent last year from a year earlier, the report said. Domestic deals surged 89 percent to $8 billion, driven by state-led restructuring in coal and steel sectors, it said.