SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Wednesday it has approved a plan by Zijin Mining Group to float shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in a deal that could be worth $2.3 billion.

China's second-biggest gold miner, based in the southern Chinese province of Fujian, said in a prospectus last week that it planned to issue up to 1.5 billion local-currency A shares, or 10.24 percent of its expanded capital, to raise money for expansion.
Zijin's Hong Kong-listed H shares closed at HK$11.90 on Monday before a two-day Christmas break. Based on that price, Zijin could raise 17 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) in its Shanghai IPO, although Chinese firms typically price IPOs of A shares at a discount to their Hong Kong counterparts.
Zijin's shares have a face value of 0.1 yuan each, only one-tenth of the 1.0 yuan face value of nearly all Chinese listed companies.
($1= 7.34 yuan)