Zijin Mining acquired Allied Gold for C$5.5 billion and commissioned Julong Phase 2 in Tibet, targeting 200,000-plus tonnes of copper annually

Summary

Zijin Mining Group agreed to acquire Allied Gold Corporation for C$5.5 billion on January 26, 2026, the largest cross-border Chinese mining acquisition in Africa in over a decade. Allied Gold's assets include the Bonikro gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire, the Sadiola mine in Mali, and the Kurmuk development project in Ethiopia, adding a substantial African gold-production dimension to Zijin's portfolio, which is primarily base-metals focused in Europe, Central Asia, and South America. In the same week, Zijin commissioned Julong Phase 2 in Qingdao Autonomous Prefecture, Tibet, a Copper-gold porphyry mine in the Gangdese Belt above 5,000 metres elevation, the world's largest known undeveloped porphyry copper-gold deposit by resource. Phase 2 more than doubles Julong's capacity, targeting 200,000-plus tonnes of copper per year at full throughput from 2027, compared to approximately 80,000 tonnes from Phase 1 in 2025. Zijin's Čukaru Peki copper-gold mine in Serbia continued Phase 1 production and advanced Phase 2 expansion permitting in a third simultaneous copper growth programme.

The split

Chinese mining industry analysis presents Zijin as demonstrating that Chinese state-adjacent companies can execute complex global M&A and greenfield mining simultaneously, managing technical challenges in Ethiopian construction and Tibetan high-altitude mining that Western majors have avoided. Western mining analysts and African development economists raise questions about Allied Gold's community benefit-sharing agreements and Zijin's record of managing local content obligations in comparable African environments, citing the CMOC TFM experience in the DRC as a cautionary precedent. Ethiopian and Malian government officials welcomed the Allied Gold acquisition as foreign direct investment; civil society organisations in both countries have raised concerns about Zijin's record on environmental compliance and labour practices at existing African projects. For the Copper market, Julong Phase 2 matters more than Allied Gold: 200,000-plus tpa of new Tibetan copper supply hits a global market where Grasberg is operating at 65% capacity and smelter TC/RCs are at or near zero, tightening an already strained concentrate system from the mine side rather than the smelter side.

By the numbers

• C$5.5 billion, Allied Gold acquisition price (approximately USD 4.0 billion).
• January 26, 2026, Allied Gold deal announcement.
• 200,000-plus tpa, Julong Phase 2 copper capacity target from 2027.
• ~80,000 tpa, Julong Phase 1 copper output in 2025.
• 5,000-plus metres, Julong mine elevation in Tibet's Gangdese Belt.
• 3, simultaneous copper and gold expansion fronts: Allied Gold (Africa), Julong (Tibet), Čukaru Peki Phase 2 (Serbia).

Why it matters

Zijin Mining is executing a simultaneous global expansion in gold and copper that positions it to exceed all but the top two or three global mining majors by production volume by 2028. Julong Phase 2's 200,000-tpa copper ramp is among the most significant new copper supply projects coming online globally, and it will enter the market at a moment when Grasberg disruption and Chilean grade decline are both constraining global smelter feed from established operations. The Allied Gold acquisition follows a consistent Chinese mining pattern: acquire mid-tier African gold assets at cycle discounts and operate them through Chinese state-bank financing that is cheaper than Western project-finance equivalents, then redeploy the gold cash flow into further base-metal expansion. Čukaru Peki in Serbia represents the same logic applied to Europe: high-grade copper-gold in a jurisdiction where Zijin has successfully negotiated favourable terms despite environmental objections, establishing a Chinese mining footprint inside EU candidate territory.

What to watch

• Allied Gold regulatory clearance: Canadian investment review and Ethiopian regulatory approval for the C$5.5 billion deal, given Kurmuk's strategic location in Benishangul-Gumuz region.
• Julong Phase 2 ramp: whether the 200,000-tpa target is reached on schedule by 2027 and how Tibetan high-altitude operations, infrastructure constraints, and seasonal conditions affect throughput.
• Čukaru Peki Phase 2 permitting: whether Serbian environmental authorities approve the expansion following Phase 1 controversies involving water management.
• Western acquisition screening: whether US CFIUS, Canadian ICA, or EU FDI screening frameworks examine Zijin's Allied Gold deal given the Ethiopia Kurmuk project's proximity to regional security concerns.