# Zijin Mining Group (China)
> China's largest gold and copper miner, a Fujian-based state-adjacent conglomerate operating in 12-plus countries, central to Chinese control of global critical-mineral supply chains.

**Meta:** type: reference · date: 2026-07-03 · heads:  · 4 takes · 4 lenses · 3 regions

## What it is

Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. is China's largest gold and copper miner and, as of mid-2026, the third-largest mining company by market capitalisation globally at approximately US$97 billion. The Fujian-based company is dual-listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (ticker: 2899) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (601899). It operates mines in more than 12 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, producing gold, copper, zinc, silver, and, since 2022, lithium carbonate. Though nominally a joint-stock company, Zijin retains close ties to the Fujian provincial government through its original state enterprise lineage. Its largest commodity by revenue is copper; gold drives most of its profit growth.

## History

Zijin's predecessor, Shanghang County Mineral Company, was established in Fujian province, China, in 1986. Chen Jinghe, a geology graduate from Fuzhou University, refocused the company onto the Zijinshan gold deposit in Shanghang County in 1993, the year it was reconstituted as Shanghang Zijin Mining Company. Zijin listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2003, raising HK$1.2 billion, and on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2008, raising RMB 9.8 billion.

International expansion accelerated in the 2010s. In September 2018, Zijin outbid Canada's Lundin Mining in a contested takeover of Nevsun Resources for US$1.41 billion, acquiring the Timok copper-gold project in Serbia, later renamed Čukaru Peki, and the Bisha copper-zinc mine in Eritrea. In 2019, Zijin acquired a stake in the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo alongside Ivanhoe Mines. Further acquisitions followed: the Buriticá gold mine in Colombia (2020), the Rosebel gold mine in Suriname (2022), and the La Arena copper-gold mine in Peru (2024). In September 2025, Zijin listed Zijin Gold International on the Hong Kong main board, consolidating its overseas gold operations into a separately traded vehicle.

## Current state

In full-year 2025, Zijin reported revenue of US$49.7 billion (up 15% year-on-year), net attributable profit of US$7.4 billion (up 62%), and operating cash flow of US$10.7 billion. Mine-produced gold reached 2.89 million ounces and copper output was 1,090,000 tonnes. Proven copper reserves stand at 56.6 million tonnes, placing Zijin among the top five global copper reserve-holders.

In January 2026, Zijin commissioned Julong Phase 2 in Qingdao Autonomous Prefecture, Tibet, targeting 200,000-plus tonnes of copper per year from 2027 at a porphyry copper-gold deposit located above 5,000 metres, the highest-elevation large copper mine in the world. That same week, Zijin agreed to acquire Allied Gold Corporation for C$5.5 billion (approximately US$4.0 billion), adding gold operations in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Ethiopia. Both moves are documented in [زيجين للتعدين تستحوذ على Allied Gold بـ5.5 مليار دولار كندي وتشغّل مشروع جولونغ المرحلة الثانية في التبت مستهدفةً أكثر من 200 ألف طن من النحاس سنويًا](/ar/n/zijin-julong-allied-gold-2026). Zijin's 2026 production targets are approximately 3.4 million ounces of gold and 1.2 million tonnes of copper.

## Relationships

Zijin's most strategically significant joint venture is the [Kamoa-Kakula](/ar/n/kamoa-kakula-copper-smelter-2026) copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, co-owned with Canada's Ivanhoe Mines and targeting more than 500,000 tonnes of copper per year from 2028, one of the largest additions to global copper supply of the decade. In Serbia, Zijin holds a 63% stake in RTB Bor after pledging US$1.9 billion in investment in 2018, making it the dominant foreign mining presence inside an EU membership-candidate state. In Papua New Guinea, Zijin holds 50% of Barrick Niugini, the entity operating the Porgera gold mine, in partnership with Barrick Gold of Canada. The Chinese state-owned rival [CMOC](/ar/n/cmoc-dossier) operates comparable copper assets in the DRC; their parallel expansion trajectories and shared exposure to host-government resource nationalism make them a frequent comparison point for critical-minerals analysts.

## What to watch

Regulatory clearance for the Allied Gold acquisition requires approval under Canada's Investment Canada Act and Ethiopian minerals law; Canadian investment review of Chinese mining deals has grown stricter since 2022. Julong Phase 2's copper ramp to 200,000-plus tonnes per year by 2027 is one of the largest single additions to the global [copper](/ar/n/copper-dossier) supply expected in the 2026-2028 window, arriving at a moment when other major operations, including [Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Indonesia](/ar/n/freeport-dossier), face operational disruptions. As the United States and European Union sharpen critical-minerals investment-screening frameworks, Zijin's ownership of high-grade assets inside EU candidate Serbia and across African battery-metal belts will draw regulatory scrutiny beyond the scope of routine investment reviews.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### official results announcement
- **Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (2025 Annual Results)** (China, en) — Zijin Mining's official 2025 full-year results: revenue US$49.7B, net profit US$7.4B, gold output 2.89 Moz, copper 1.09 Mt, and 2026-2028 production guidance.
  Source: https://www.zijinmining.com/investor/2025-newyeji.htm

### official corporate history
- **Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (Corporate History)** (China, en) — Zijin Mining's official corporate timeline: founding from the Shanghang County predecessor in 1993, dual-listing milestones, and acquisition history through 2023.
  Source: https://www.zijinmining.com/about/history.htm

### deal announcement
- **PR Newswire** (Canada, en) — September 2018 press release confirming Zijin Mining's all-cash acquisition of Nevsun Resources for US$1.41 billion, including the Timok copper-gold project in Serbia and Bisha mine in Eritrea.
  Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/friendly-all-cash-agreement-for-nevsun-to-be-acquired-by-zijin-mining-for-us1-41-billion-300706944.html

### industry reporting
- **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — Bloomberg reports Zijin Mining's record 2025 profit of US$7.4 billion and plans for gold and copper production growth in 2026, following record commodity prices across gold, copper, and silver.
  Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-31/china-s-zijin-mining-plans-gold-output-push-after-record-profit

## Across the graph
- Related: [[zijin-julong-allied-gold-2026]], [[copper-dossier]], [[kamoa-kakula-copper-smelter-2026]], [[cmoc-dossier]], [[freeport-dossier]]
- Entities: Corporate:zijin Mining, Commodity:copper, China, Chen Jinghe

---
Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ar/n/zijin-mining-dossier