Western Mining Co. Ltd., one of China's largest mining and development companies, expects to conduct an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the first half of 2007.

"The timing much depends on the approval procedure," Deng Jiniu, the company's chairman told reporters on the sidelines of a mining conference.

Deng did not elaborate about how much the company expected to raise from the Hong Kong debut of its West Mining unit.

The company, based in the northwest province of Qinghai, expects its sales revenue to hit 10 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) this year, said Deng without giving comparative figures.

Hong Kong sources earlier said the company would likely raise $256 million from a listing.

Western Mining, active in mining in Tibet and Inner Mongolia, owns five non-ferrous mines, including Xitieshan mine, the country's largest lead and zinc mine, which has annual production of more than 1.5 million tonnes.

The company expects the Uchkosgon tin mine in Kyrgyzstan to begin production in 2008, with annual output of 1,000 tonnes.

It is also studying the possibility of investing in a copper and cobalt mine in Congo, Deng said.

($1=7.867 Yuan)