On April 11, Zijin Mining announced exceptional first-quarter results, with net profit attributable to shareholders soaring 62% year-on-year to RMB 10.2 billion (US$ 1.4 billion). This milestone marks a strong start to 2025, building on the company’s record-breaking RMB32.1 billion net profit in 2024, which represented a growth of 52% over the previous year.
Since unveiling its ten-year, three-step growth strategy in 2020, Zijin Mining has maintained robust growth. The company’s Q1 2024 net attributable profit stands at approximately 1.5 times its full-year 2020 figure, underscoring its position as a major global miner with unrivalled momentum.
Earning what ought to be earned
The first quarter of 2025 saw historic highs in gold prices (exceeding US$3,000/oz) and strong copper prices (surpassing US$10,000/tonne), driven by rising demand for safe-haven assets and expectations of US tariffs on copper imports. At the same time, ongoing geopolitical tensions and fierce competition among world powers exert a far-reaching impact on the global economy.
“Amid rising global uncertainties, we have been strengthening our global competitiveness and comparative advantages. We are meeting uncertainty in the external environment with internal certainty, to earn the money that we ought to earn,” said Zijin’s Chairman Chen Jinghe on multiple occasions.
Since the start of 2025, Zijin has seized market opportunities by maximizing production and sales. Key operations—including Julong Copper, Longnan Zijin, Serbia Zijin Mining, and Serbia Zijin Copper—beat their output targets. The company’s smelters also achieved growth despite extremely low tolling charges and cutthroat competition.
In Q1, Zijin produced 19 tonnes of mined gold (up 13% YoY) and 288,000 tonnes of mined copper (up 9% YoY), both surpassing milestones set in its annual production schedule.
Bolstered by enhanced operational efficiency, significant production growth, and astute market forecasting, Zijin fully capitalized on rising metal prices. During the reporting period, its year-on-year growth in profit before tax, net profit, cash flow, and earnings per share were all higher than 50%.
Concurrently, Zijin is leveraging favorable market conditions to ramp up gold and copper production capacity. Its annual gold output is expected to rise sharply from 73 tonnes in 2024 to 85 tonnes this year, supported by both mature and new projects: producing operations such as Rosebel Gold Mines and the Aurora Gold Mine are accelerating expansions, the acquisition of the Akyem Gold Mine in Ghana is being advanced, and mine construction at the Haiyu Gold Mine in China is progressing rapidly. In addition, the development of Čukaru Peki’s Lower Zone and Serbia Zijin Copper’s Jama Mine, as well as the ramp-up at Phase II of Julong Copper in Xizang will drive the company’s annual output to 1.15 million tonnes of copper.
Analysts note that Zijin’s net attributable profit has maintained a compound annual growth rate of 49.55% over the past five years and its operating cash flow consistently exceeded its net profit. However, as of April 11, its price-to-earnings ratio of 12 remains far below the average of 20 for other leading gold and copper miners, indicating significant undervaluation.
Reasoning behind strong growth amidst uncertainty
A rising tide lifts all boats, but only to a certain point.
Zijin’s sustained, robust growth appears propelled by the historic surge in gold and copper prices. However, the ability to unlock production volumes during a super-cycle is critical to taking full advantage of market opportunities. A key driver of Zijin’s growth lies in great timing: each wave of new capacity has been unleashed in sync with price upswings.
This success is rooted in Zijin’s unparalleled mine development and operational capabilities.
While industry peers typically require more than five years to progress from feasibility studies to production, Zijin is able to achieve faster and more cost-effective mine development, thanks to its in-house capabilities in research, engineering, and construction. This rapidly unlocks capacity after the company takes over new assets, enabling it to “buy in bear markets and produce in bull markets”. Julong Copper Mine is a case in point. Acquired in 2020 when copper prices fell below RMB 40,000/tonne, Zijin built and commissioned the project in just 18 months, turning it into an ultra-large mine with an annual output of over 160,000 tonnes of copper.
Another growth catalyst is the complementary nature of Zijin’s gold and copper portfolios.
Copper thrives during strong global growth and rising industrial activity, while gold acts as a hedge against asset devaluation during recessions and periods with rising uncertainty. By focusing on gold and copper while also extracting zinc, lithium, molybdenum, and silver—metals with high value or growth potential–Zijin’s diversified asset base enhances its resilience in times of uncertainty.
Despite the profound impacts of US “reciprocal tariffs” on the global economy, Zijin remains bullish on gold and copper due to gold’s inherent safe-haven appeal and copper’s structural supply-demand imbalance amid the energy transition. Last week, it completed a nearly RMB 1 billion share buyback program in just three days, underscoring the company’s confidence in its own value and future prospects.
Translator: Li Yuanxing Reviser: Jian Editor-in-Chief: Fa Yuan