A Chinese billionaire has made an Australian dollars 830 million ($847 million) takeover offer for Botswana copper miner Discovery Metals Ltd.

Shanghai-based Cathay Fortune Corporation, which is controlled by billionaire Yu Yong, and the China-Africa Development Fund are together offering A$1.70 a share for Discovery through a joint venture that is 75 percent owned by Cathay Fortune.

Sydney-listed Discovery Metals is exploring for copper in Botswana’s northwest. It says its prospecting licenses in the country cover nearly 12,000 square kilometers (4,633 square miles).

Forbes says Yu is one of the 100 richest people in China with a fortune of $1.4 billion. He has interests in molybdenum and tungsten mines.

China has a huge appetite for copper and other metals to help fuel its economic development.