Jiangxi Copper Co., China's second biggest producer of the metal, will expand the capacity of its Dexing Copper Mine by 30 percent, as it seeks to increase self- sufficiency in raw materials.

Jiangxi Copper plans to expand output to 130,000 metric tons a day by 2011, said contractor China Enfi Engineering Corp., a unit of state-owned construction company China Metallurgical Group Corp., in a statement on its Web site yesterday.

Jiangxi Copper is buying mines and expanding output to cut reliance on imports of copper concentrates needed to feed its smelters. The Dexing Copper Mine accounts for about 20 percent of total Chinese production, according to the statement.

The mine has a daily output capacity of 100,000 tons a day currently. About 7,500 tons of daily capacity will be added by June 2009, with the rest to start by 2011, the statement said.

The expansion will bring the mine's annual copper metal production to 161,000 tons from 120,000 tons, said the statement. The expansion will extend the mine's shelf life by 8 years to 30 years.