China's CNNC: Has Held Talks With Australian Uranium Miners

China National Nuclear Corp., the country's body governing all supply of nuclear fuel for power generation, has held preliminary talks with Australia uranium miners, CNNC's vice president said Wednesday.

"We have contacted counterparts in Australia, and have held preliminary talks. But we need to verify the feasibility of certain projects before making any more details public," CNNC Vice President Jiangang Qin told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2009 conference.

"We want to focus on our own production but we'd also like to make investments similar to Japan, to plug any shortage in Chinese uranium supply," he said.

CNNC already has acquired an exploration interest in Niger.

Talk of China seeking large-scale investment in Australia's uranium miners has intensified in recent weeks. One Sydney-based investment banker said contact from Chinese companies had increased exponentially over the past two months, with inquiries focusing on the coal and uranium sector.

China is particularly interested in companies already in production, such as Paladin Resources Ltd. and Energy Resources Australia Ltd. (majority-owned by Rio Tinto PLC) but also smaller miners at the exploration stage such as Extract Resources Ltd.

-By Elisabeth Behrmann, Dow Jones Newswires;

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