About 100 international mining executives will relocate to downtown Phoenix as CMOC International opens a 25,000-square-foot headquarters, the company announced.

The company is moving to 2600 N. Central Ave.

“Any company considering a footprint in the Western Hemisphere needs to seriously consider Phoenix," CEO Kalidas Madhavpeddi said in a news release.

The company canceled a planned opening ceremony and donated the $20,000 it would have spent to the Salvation Army's hurricane-relief efforts in the U.S., a move praised by Phoenix civic leaders. Company executives donated an additional $5,000 to the effort personally.

“Phoenix is a good place for a mining company; it’s big part of Arizona’s history and it is a great location for a global company to locate," Madhavpeddi said. "It’s easy to travel to and from our mining properties with a Phoenix base. This lets us tap a workforce that has experience with international business. We’re close to key vendors, like Caterpillar.”

The company plans additional hires after starting with about 100 on site.

CMOC International is a wholly owned subsidiary of CMOC.

CMOC, which stands for China Molybdenum Co. Ltd., was established in China in 2006 and is listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

The company runs mines in Africa, Brazil and Australia and recently acquired an indirect stake of the Tenke-Fungurume Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo from Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Its mines produce copper, cobalt, niobium, and phosphates.

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