Zijin News - From February 8 to 15th, Chairman Chen Jinghe inspected Zijin African projects on-site and visited the employees and local communities.
As a promising destination for mining investment, Africa has seen Zijin mining increasing its footprint in the continent over the years, from Nkwe and Gold Vale Trading and Logistics in South Africa, COMMUS, Kamoa, and CARRILU in the DRC, to Bisha in Eritrea.
COMMUS
While in COMMUS, Chairman Chen noted Africa’s strategic importance for Zijin’s investment and proclaimed the project an example of successful overseas M&A, project development, and operation. He said that COMMUS was the cornerstone for Zijin to continue investing in the DRC and should continue leading the Group’s operations in Africa.
Chairman Chen stressed the need to ensure solid full-life-cycle development planning and enhance resource sustainability. In addition, he reiterated the overarching principle of improving quality, controlling costs, and boosting profitability, calling for more vigorous efforts to reduce the cost per tonne, build a truck dispatching system, recover and reuse flotation tailings, and experiment with localized operation models.
Kamoa
According to Chairman Chen, Kamoa was a world-class copper mine and a shining example of cultural integration and efficient cooperation.
He emphasized long-term planning and noted the need to accelerate the Phase III project and start Phase IV and V early. He said that the project should strive for the long-term target of 800,000 tonnes of copper concentrate per annum and that the goal for 2025 was to establish Kamoa as the world’s fourth-largest copper mine.
The Chairman also spoke about the exploration at Kamoa North Mines. He expected accelerated research on the super high-grade deposits and additional exploration activities to ensure continued resource availability.
Bisha
Mr. Chen commented that Bisha had become one of the most globalized overseas affiliates, with 19 nationalities in its workforce.
He stressed the need to step up exploration in and around existing deposits to add or upgrade resources and called for cost reduction in extraction and processing. In addition, he suggested assessing the feasibility of debottlenecking and expansion to improve the project’s production capacity and risk resilience.
“Development for All”
ESG was high on Charman Chen’s agenda throughout the trip.
While visiting the projects, the Chairman repeatedly emphasized Zijin’s commitment to protecting the environment. He said that Ziin had been and would continue building green mines to high standards and developing an ESG system that conforms to international standards and fit Zijin’s circumstances.
On social issues, the Chairman said that affiliates should continue to promote employment, charity, education, cultural development, and healthcare in local communities and host countries to help advance economic and social development. It was due to these contributions that the company has won and thrived on the support of local governments, communities, and employees, said Chairman Chen.
The Chairman required the affiliates to remain steadfast in their commitment to the Group's "Mining for a Better Society" mission and the core value of "Development for All." He also encouraged the affiliates to tell Zijin stories well in the local language.
Translator: Wei Yalin Reviser: Chen Peng Editor-in-Chief: Wang Jie