How Zijin Raced to the World No.3 Spot in Global Mining Company Rankings.
Vision and aggressive execution are paying dividends for this little known miner
China’s Zijin Mining Group has pulled off an improbable feat in today’s mature mining industry: a meteoric rise from an unknown local outfit to the planet’s third-largest miner by market value, all in just 25 years. With a valuation topping $100 billion last week—edging out Glencore and nipping at the heels of BHP and Rio Tinto—Zijin’s journey combines geological wizardry with audacious deal-making, and has a fair share of high-stakes drama.
In 2000, a chain-smoking ambitious geologist Chen Jinghe was poring over maps in Fujian province. Chen made a call that the Zijinshan deposit was loaded with gold and copper. He got to work dealing and digging. By 2006, Zijin was producing over 20% of China’s gold output, at around 49 tonnes.
Fast-forward through the 2010s, and Zijin morphs from domestic focus into the global arena. A $7.9 billion acquisition spree was embarked upon, spanning around 13 deals and more than doubling its domestic spend. Highlights during this period include a 49.5% stake in the Congo’s Kamoa-Kakula copper operation from Ivanhoe Mines in 2015, and an outright purchase of Australia’s Norton Gold Fields in 2011 for $230 million.
By 2023, Zijin is cracking the million-tonne copper milestone, rocketing to the world’s fourth-largest producer with a blistering 30% annual growth rate since 2020. Gold was up 20% to 68 tonnes that year, crowning it China’s top listed producer. Despite the name Zijin meaning “purple gold”, copper now claims 44% of gross profits. First-half 2025 profits surged 54% to $3.25 billion, fueled by record gold prices and copper’s bull run.
Aggressive growth always has a few undesirable chapters. In Colombia’s Buriticá mine, acquired from Newmont in 2020, thieves made off with 3.2 tonnes of gold in 2023—$200 million. A 2010 tailings dam burst in Guangdong claimed four lives amid a freak typhoon.
Zijin now spans 15 countries, from Tibet’s sky-high Julong mine to Peru’s La Arena, with lithium and zinc rounding out a green-energy portfolio. Chen is still chairman at 68, and eyes doubling Zijin’s market cap in five years.
My verdict: same growth playbook as the older peers, just executed MUCH faster by Chen.
The Kamoa-Kakula deal with Ivanhoe in 2015 was probably one of the smartest movs Zijin made. They got in before copper prices really started climbing and before everyone figured out how critcal the DRC would be to global supply. Chen's aggressive acquisition strategy is interesting but I wonder if the rapid expansion pace creates operational risks, especially in tougher jurisdictins like Colombia where they lost 3.2 tonnes of gold. The fact they're targeting double market cap in five years while dealing with these chalenges shows serious ambition. Would be curious to see if they can maintain that 30 percent copper growth rate.