From Gold to Copper: How Zijin Mining is Rewriting the Rules of Global Resources
China’s fast-growing copper champion is reshaping global metal supply
"China is a giant when it comes to resources; its investments around the world are redefining how nations interact over vital materials." Jim Rogers
Pictured: Zijinshan gold-copper mine. (Image courtesy of Zijin Mining)
Chen Jinghe was fresh out of university when a pivotal assignment landed in his lap: seek out gold on Zijin Mountain. It was 1982, and the young geology graduate ventured into the verdant, humid highlands of southeastern China. The gamble paid off spectacularly. The deposit his team unearthed would become the nation’s largest gold mine, laying the groundwork for a $67 billion state-owned titan now fueling copper supply growth and challenging established players in the global resources arena.
Fast forward three decades, and Zijin Mining Group Co. is extracting gold, copper, and lithium across continents. On paper, it’s a state-run entity, yet it operates with the agility of a private firm, characterized by a lean workforce and a risk-tolerant investment strategy that positions it to rival industry giants like BHP Group Ltd.
"In our first decade, we focused on gold and copper at Zijinshan. In the second, we expanded throughout China. Now, our focus has shifted to global growth," Chen remarked from the company’s headquarters in Xiamen, a coastal city three hours from the mine that sparked it all.
Established Western names like Anglo American Plc limited spending over the past decade after the splurges of the last commodities boom, and most have yet to fully loosen the purse strings — but Zijin and peers like CMOC Group Ltd. have pressed ahead through the sector’s wilderness years. The result is that China, long dominant in refining and smelting, has now been able to dramatically expand its access to mined copper.
Zijin’s copper output has more than tripled in the last five years as new operations in Africa, the Balkans, and domestically have come online. Last year, it ranked as the sixth-largest copper miner on an equity basis.
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