Daoxian, Hunan Province, China — On December 10, 2025, Zijin Mining, a leading global metals miner, commenced production of its first hard-rock lithium mine, an integrated mining, processing, and metallurgical operation. This milestone brings the company closer to its goal of becoming one of the world’s largest lithium suppliers.
As Zijin’s first project that extracts lithium from lepidolite, the Xiangyuan Hard-Rock Lithium Mine is a key part of the company’s lithium portfolio of two hard-rock mines and two lithium brine operations. Its commissioning coincides with a recent rebound in lithium prices and record-high trading activity, driven by stronger-than-expected demand growth.
“The Xiangyuan project will bolster Hunan’s renewable energy and lithium battery sectors by providing essential raw materials, laying a solid foundation for a new green industrial hub in Central China,” said Mr. Chen Jinghe, Chairman of Zijin Mining, at the commissioning ceremony. “From Zijin’s acquisition to full commissioning, the project was delivered in just over two years — a testament to our distinct ‘Zijin Speed’.”
Chairman Chen further noted that despite depressed lithium prices, Zijin is confident in unlocking significant value from the mine’s low-grade resources through technological innovation, while making lithium extraction processes greener and more efficient. The company aims to establish the project as an industry benchmark for comprehensive resource utilization, green mining, safety, and environmental stewardship.
Integrated innovation for a complex deposit
The Xiangyuan mine is a large-scale but low-grade lithium deposit that also contains associated metals, including tin, tungsten, rubidium, and cesium. As verified by regulatory authorities, the mine holds approximately 196 million tonnes of ore, which contains 670,000 tonnes of lithium oxide. Its scale has earned it a place among Hunan’s Top 10 Industrial Projects for two consecutive years.
Designed for an annual mining and processing capacity of 5 million tonnes, combined with a refining capacity of 30,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per annum, the project is underpinned by Zijin’s “Integrated Five-Process Mining Operations Management Model”. Leveraging this model, the mine’s technical team developed an integrated mining–processing–metallurgy process flow, addressing key challenges in efficient mining from complex orebodies and comprehensive metal recovery from low-grade ores. The team also broke through bottlenecks for the recovery of associated minerals from lithium-rich polymetallic deposits, enabling the efficient recovery of tungsten, tin, rubidium, and cesium.
Counter-cyclical development for long-term growth
Amid the ongoing lithium price correction, Zijin has adopted a counter-cyclical strategy for its lithium business: Adjusting commissioning timelines, optimizing technical processes, and strengthening capital discipline. This approach paves the way for future capacity ramp-up and earnings growth.
Zijin’s lithium portfolio, comprised of “Two Lakes and Two Mines” secured in recent years through strategic acquisitions, is materializing into producing operations:
Lakkor Tso Lithium Brine Project (Xizang, China) — commissioned in 2025
3Q Lithium Brine Project (Argentina) — commissioned in 2025
Xiangyuan Hard-Rock Lithium Mine (Hunan, China) — commissioned in 2025
Manono Northeast Lithium Mine (Democratic Republic of Congo) — scheduled for commissioning in 2026
As of 2024, Zijin holds lithium resources totaling 17.88 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), ranking among the top ten globally. The company targets an annual production of 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of LCE by 2028, which is expected to position Zijin among the world’s top 3 to 5 lithium producers.
According to financial media commentary, Zijin’s current forward price-to-earnings ratio — a key metric reflecting the market’s valuation of the company’s growth potential through the entire fiscal year — appears relatively low within the metals and mining sector. The high-growth profile of its lithium business has yet to be fully priced in by the market. Once its lithium segment begins to contribute significant earnings, it is expected to catalyze an overall revaluation of the company.
About Zijin Mining
Zijin Mining is a leading global metals and mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of gold, copper, and zinc. The company has more than 30 large-scale mining operations and projects across 19 countries on 5 continents. Leveraging strong in-house research, engineering, and development capabilities, Zijin maintains high operational efficiency and low costs in both acquisitions and operations. This enables the company to be an industry leader in value creation, underpinned by its philosophy of pursuing development for all and sustained by superior environmental, social, and governance performance. Zijin’s shares trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX: 2899) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE: 601899).