China Minmetals Corporation, the country's largest state-owned metals trader, had said it was conducting research on a London Mining iron ore project in Sierra Leone and has not signed any cooperation deal for the same, China Daily reported.

The statement came after London Mining said Friday that it held talks with Minmetals and Sinosteel Corp., China's largest iron ore trader, as well as China's National Railways for its Marampa project in Sierra Leone.

A source with China Minmetals Corporation said the company has not yet taken a decision on whether to invest and is still studying the project, said the newspaper.

The source said Minmetals would rather look for suitable iron ore acquisitions projects in Australia and Africa, like Mauritania, and largely focus on small- and medium-sized projects.

An overseas merger and acquisition of a project might come out by the end of this year, he said.