BEIJING, Oct.16 -- The Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd, the country's leading metallurgical conglomerate, is likely to face a claim of up to $450 million from its proprietor for project delays, according to a report carried in Monday's Investor Journal.

MCC, contractor of the Sino Iron project in western Australia, has been embroiled in a dispute with its proprietor, the CITIC Pacific Ltd, a steel and property conglomerate controlled by China's State-owned CITIC Group, which accused MCC of failing to complete the project on time.