By Alexandra Alper
SANTIAGO, April 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. unit of China's oil
major Sinopec Corp 0386.HK is procuring copper to send to its
equipment suppliers in mainland China, two sources familiar with
the matter told Reuters, in a rare move by a Chinese oil
company.
Sinopec USA is seeking to buy 300,000 tonnes of copper and
copper concentrates total per year that they would then sell on
to their mainland suppliers of copper rods and cables, the
sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the
discussions are confidential. Sinopec will then buy back the
finished product, the sources said on the sidelines of the
CRU-CESCO annual mining conference.
(Additional reporting by Aizhu Chen and Tom Daly in Beijing;
writing by Melanie Burton in Melbourne; editing by Amran Abocar
and Jonathan Oatis)
((melanie.burton@thomsonreuters.com Twitter: @MelanieMetals;
+613 9286 1421; Reuters Messaging:
melanie.burton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))