By Karlee Weinmann (February 7, 2014, 11:22 AM EST) -- A buyer group led by China Minmetals Corp. is closing in on a deal worth nearly $6 billion that would give it ownership of Glencore Xstrata PLC's sought-after Las Bambas copper project, sources told Bloomberg on Friday. The consortium also includes Citic Metal Co. and China Reform Holdings Corp. Ltd., a state-backed investment outfit. Glencore Xstrata is shedding the Peruvian mine as a condition of its blockbuster merger with Xstrata, imposed by Chinese regulators. The multibillion-dollar project would be one of the largest copper projects sold in recent years. Official word of the transaction could come as soon as this month, pending approval from the Chinese government....