Zijin Mining plans to invest 1 billion yuan ($146 million) in a gold mining project in Tajikistan and awaits approval for another in the Philippines, as China's top listed gold producer expands abroad to ride sky-high prices for the precious metal.

    "We paid $50 million to buy 75 percent of the Tajikistan company. We are going to put another 1 billion yuan to boost production," Chairman Chen Jinghe told Reuters on the sidelines of an investor conference on Tuesday in Hong Kong.

    He said the Tajikistan company controlled two gold mines and Zijin's investment would boost gold production to up to 5 tonnes a year in the next 3-5 years from 1 tonne.

    Zijin was seeking more mining projects in Tajikistan as the Tajikistan government was friendly to Chinese firms, Chen said. Zinc and silver mining projects would be possible metals.

    Chen also told Reuters that the firm expects to start up the Rio Blanco copper-molybdenum project in Peru in 2010 with annual production of 150,000-200,000 tonnes.

    Zijin was revising the investment plan of Rio Blanco to save costs and have more environmental friendly operations.

    The firm was also seeking large gold mining projects in Africa, Chen said.

    Zijin's shares were off 2 percent in morning trade, lagging a 2.5 percent fall in the broader Hang Seng Index .HSI. ($1=6.835 Yuan)