UPDATE 1-China Firm Offers C$150 mln for Canada's Crowflight

TORONTO, Apr. 7 -- China's Jinchuan Group has offered C$150 million ($150 million) in cash to acquire Canadian junior nickel miner Crowflight Minerals Inc (CML.TO), driving Crowflight's shares up 44 percent on Tuesday morning.

The deal would see Jinchuan take control of Crowflight's Bucko Lake nickel mine in Manitoba, Crowflight said in a statement.

The company said the offer values it at about 26 Canadian cents a share, based on current shares outstanding. This represents a 53 percent premium on the company's closing share price on Monday.

Shares of Crowflight, which is 26 percent owned by Switzerland's Pala Investment Holdings, were up 7-1/2 Canadian cents at 24-1/2 Canadian cents shortly after the deal was announced.

The offer is premised on Jinchuan obtaining 100 percent of the output from the Bucko Lake mine and any other Crowflight exploration properties that are subsequently put into production, Crowflight said.

The move is the latest of several recent moves by Chinese companies to gain partial or full control of Canadian mining assets to lock in supply of base metals.