Global commodity trader Trafigura on Friday said it would buy a 30 pct stake in Jinchuan Group's copper smelter in southern China.

Trafigura said the agreement, subject to regulatory approval, marked the first major investment by an international trading firm in a Chinese smelting business. It did not provide financial terms for the deal.

The 400,000 tonnes-a-year smelter is in Fangchengang in the south of China, the world's top refined copper producer and consumer.

Jinchuan is China's third-largest copper producer and the top maker of refined nickel. It is the parent of Hong Kong-listed Jinchuan International.

The agreement includes a multiyear supply and off-take arrangement corresponding to the size of Trafigura's stake, the trader said in a statement.

The agreement allows Trafigura to supply raw material copper concentrate to the smelter and buy refined metal, said a source in China familiar with operations at the smelter.

He added that the smelter was still in trial production and was expected to start normal output after June 2014.

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