In recent years, several large state-owned enterprises have negotiated to acquire African mining companies via the London Stock Exchange (LSE), according to reports Monday citing Zhang Ning, delegate of LSE in Beijing.

Two months ago, the China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM), a large-scale state-owned enterprise in trading and logistics, bought 12.5 percent of the shares of African Minerals Limited (AMI, LSE), who has a magnetic iron ore of 10.5 billion tons in Sierra Leone.

In March, Wuhan Iron and Steel Company signed agreements with China-Africa Development Fund to jointly invest in African mining companies and acquired 60 percent of the shares of China-Union Investment Co. Ltd..

''In comparison with Australia and the United States, injecting money in African mining companies may be risky, but if these companies are listed on LSE, then the danger can be narrower,'' said Zhang.

Previously, due to Australian national security concerns, Chinese enterprises underwent failures investing in Australia, which directly forced Chinese enterprises to shift to Africa, according to information disclosed by Ernst & Young.

On May 2, the Australian government announced that the country will levy a 40 percent resource tax on resource-exploiting companies, which is also seen as an obstacle for Chinese mining companies.