Last week's announcement that Aim-quoted miner Bellzone had agreed a deal with China for investment in its iron ore project in Guinea highlighted an emerging Chinese strategy for Africa - funding infrastructure in return for mineral supplies.

The iron ore project at Kalia in the west African country is substantial. It has a defined resource of 2.4bn tonnes and the company is aiming for 50m tonnes of production a year. With an eye on its insatiable appetite for steel, the China International Fund, or CIF, has agreed to spend about $3bn (￡2bn) on building the infrastructure needed for the project.

Chinese companies are in-creasingly offering to build transport and energy infrastructure for mining companies in return for deals to buy the minerals produced, or off-take agreements.