Nov. 17--TOKYO -- Sumitomo Corp. said Monday it will take over a Bolivian silver- and zinc-mining project from its U.S. parent firm Apex Silver Mines Ltd., turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary.

Sumitomo said it will pay $22.5 million, or 2.2 billion yen, plus a further sum down the road relative to the future worth of the project. Further details of the acquisition deal are expected to be hammered out by March next year, the major Japanese trading house said.

At present, the mine operation is owned 35 percent by Sumitomo with Apex holding the remainder.

The mine's annual silver output is the third-largest in the world and it is credited with confirmed reserves of 14,000 tons of silver, 3.8 million tons of zinc and 1.3 million tons of lead, according to Sumitomo.

The San Cristobal mine, located in southwestern Bolivia near the borders with Argentina and Chile, began production in August last year.

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