Australia Says Decision on Chinalco Is Unaffected by Minmetals

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s decision whether to approve Aluminum Corp. of China’s $19.5 billion investment in Rio Tinto Group will be unaffected by the rejection of a planned transaction by China Minmetals Group, the finance minister said. Rulings on whether to allow foreign investments in Australia depend on the circumstances and merits of the individual deal, Lindsay Tanner said today on Sky News. The rejection of the Minmetals transaction on national security grounds is a “one-off,” he said. Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board on March 16 extended its investigation into state-owned Chinalco’s proposed investment in Rio. Treasurer Wayne Swan on March 27 said he wouldn’t approve Minmetals’ planned A$2.6 billion ($1.8 billion) takeover offer for OZ Minerals Ltd. if it included the Prominent Hill copper and gold mine, which is located close to a weapons- testing site in South Australia. “I don’t think too much should be read into this decision because it does involve a pretty unusual element that typically won’t be there in other similar decisions of this kind,” Tanner said. “You need to really look at these things on a case-by- case basis. This shouldn’t be seen as some kind of precedent or scene-setter for a decision on the Rio-Chinalco proposition.” Minmetals, China’s largest importer of copper, said March 27 it remains in discussions with the Foreign Investment Review Board on a solution. Melbourne-based OZ Minerals said it was in talks with Minmetals on possible changes to the proposed transaction in light of Swan’s statement and “remains in constructive negotiations” with its banks on the extension of debt due on March 31. OZ declined comment today on negotiations taking place over the weekend, spokeswoman Natalie Worley said by telephone.