Sinosteel Says Rio Joint Venture in Australia Still Operating

By Lee Spears

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Sinosteel Corp., China's second- largest iron ore trader, said its Channar joint venture with Rio Tinto Plc in Australia is operating normally, denying reports that the mine had closed down because of losses.

The mine is now increasing production after cutting some output at the end of November because of ``market reasons,'' Sinosteel said in a statement on its Web site today.

``All of Sinosteel's domestic and overseas units are operating normally, and not experiencing losses,'' the company statement said.

Losses had forced the closure of the Channar iron-ore mine, the Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday, citing unidentified people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lee Spears in Beijing at lspears2@bloomberg.net.