Mr. Chen Jinghe, Chairman of Zijin Mining, has received the Field Award of the 19th J.S. Lee Prize for Geological Sciences on November 8, 2025. The prestigious award, China’s highest honor for geologists, recognizes his exceptional contributions to geoscience.

Established by the Foundation of J.S. Li Prize for Geological Sciences, the prize is presented biennially to no more than 15 individuals. Each laureate may receive the honor only once, and it is a lifetime distinction. Since its inception in 1989, the award has recognized 298 experts, including 72 fellows of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Four Decades of Dedication in Geoscience and Green Mining

Mr. Chen, who graduated in geology from Fuzhou University in 1982, has dedicated more than 40 years to the exploration of metal deposits and technological innovation in eco-friendly mining. His efforts have led to a series of breakthroughs in prospecting, economic geology, and the development of mines with low-grade or refractory ores.

His most iconic contribution began with the Zijinshan project. From the 1960s, multiple exploration teams prospected in the Zijinshan area of Fujian, with limited success. Between 1982 and 1992, under Mr. Chen’s leadership, exploration correctly predicted the deposit pattern—“a gold orebody on top of a copper orebody”. This led to the discovery and delineation of the first ultra-large gold-copper deposit in the continental volcanic belt along China’s southeastern coastal region, which later became known as the Zijinshan Gold-Copper Mine. He also established the Zijinshan-type gold-copper metallogenic model. Mr. Chen’s work won him the first prize of China’s National Science and Technology Progress Award.

However, initial assessments deemed the mine’s low-grade ores as barely economic, resulting in it being handed over to Shanghang County, its host region, for development. Refusing to abandon the results from a decade of exploration, Mr. Chen led a team to conduct a comprehensive re-evaluation of the deposit based on economic geology while implementing innovations across the metal extraction process. This approach brought about a significant drop in cut-off grades for mining, triggering explosive growth in minable resources:

• Gold resources surged from 5.5 tonnes to 316 tonnes;

• Copper resources jumped from 1.29 million tonnes to 3.24 million tonnes.

As a result, Zijinshan went from an almost economically unviable asset into China’s largest gold mine at the time, generating high returns through the extraction of low-grade resources.

The Five-Process Mining Model

Through his practical experience, Mr. Chen has helped steer mining toward more market-oriented growth. He believes that “If you can make money from a rock, it’s ore.” and argues that market dynamics are the fundamental criterion for distinguishing ore and non-ore. In his framework, a deposit carries three attributes—geological resource, technical-economic, and geological-environmental—and must be dynamically estimated as the market and technology evolve.

On this basis, he developed the “Integrated Five-Process Mining Operations Management Model”. Based on the flow of minerals, the model manages geological exploration, mining, mineral processing, metallurgy and environmental protection as an integrated whole. Through full-process optimization and systematic cost control across these processes, the model converts previously uneconomic mineralized rock into ore, achieving substantial resource expansion and maximizing economic and social benefits. This new paradigm in economic geology has guided the technical and economic assessment of multiple large and ultra-large deposits held by Zijin and underpins its distinct technical-economic resource models.

Successful Application at Mines Worldwide

Anchored in the Five-Process model, economic geology principles, and world-leading exploration technologies, many mines operated or invested by Zijin have achieved a virtuous cycle—the more they are mined, the larger their resources grow—making meaningful contributions to global mineral supply.

Representative case studies include:

• Julong Copper Mine in Xizang, China
  As throughput expanded and mineral processing techniques were optimized, mining and processing costs declined, enabling a lower feed grade. Mr. Chen personally visited the extremely high-altitude mine multiple times, providing guidance for deep and peripheral exploration and the adoption of new mining indicators, boosting the resource base for the operation.
  • In 2024, a government review confirmed that copper resources had doubled from 10.27 million tonnes to 25.88 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.28%. Newly added copper, molybdenum, and silver resources reached 2.5 times of the previous levels. Notably, copper reserves rose 4.4 times. Julong is now not only China’s largest copper mine but also a world-class, ultra-large deposit. It is also a contributor to the country’s new round of exploration campaign.
  • In 2024, Julong generated RMB 7 billion in profit and RMB 9.77 billion in industrial added value, accounting for 3.5% of Xizang’s GDP. The mine is poised to become the world’s largest by throughput, while operating at the lowest grades and highest altitude among copper mines globally.

• Tongshan Copper Mine in Heilongjiang, China
  Through a junior exploration program, drilling at a deep borehole intersected a concealed orebody at the end of 2020, raising questions about the size and geometry of the orebody. The exploration team was uncertain about the next steps. During a June 2021 site visit, Mr. Chen instructed the team to infer the lower orebody’s potential from the largely known upper body, insisting, “There is more to find.” His visit boosted the team’s confidence and kicked off large-scale exploration.
  • By 2024, years of work had added 3.65 million tonnes of copper resources at an average grade of 0.47%. Of which, a newly discovered blind porphyry orebody accounted for 2.81 million tonnes—it is the only ultra-large copper discovery in Northeast China in the past 40 years. This represents a landmark achievement for the national exploration campaign, consolidating the resource base for copper producing areas in East China.

• Wulagen Lead-Zinc Mine in Xinjiang
  Historically undeveloped due to poor resource endowment, the project caught Mr. Chen’s attention at a mining licenses promotion event. He recognized a 100-plus meters orebody thickness in a strata-bound system with stable strike—signaling huge exploration potential.
  • Following Zijin’s acquisition and successive exploration and estimations, the mine’s lead and zinc resources soared from 1.35 million tonnes to 7.45 million tonnes (5.5 times), positioning Wulagen among the world’s most profitable lead-zinc mines despite the lowest feed grades and high stripping ratios.

• Kakula Copper Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  Based on metallogenic patterns and exploration intelligence, Mr. Chen accurately predicted the Kakula orebody and directed exploration efforts that proved it:
  • Newly measured copper resources total 18.88 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.56%, making it the largest and most valuable copper discovery of the last decade. Kakula’s discovery elevated the Kamoa–Kakula project to a truly world-class deposit. After the operation’s Phase III comes online, copper output is expected to reach 600,000 tonnes per year, ranking it the third-largest copper mine globally.

• Other breakthroughs achieved with the guidance of Mr. Chen include two mines in China – Yixingzhai Gold Mine in Shanxi and Shuiyindong Gold Mine in Guizhou – and exploration programs at the Timok porphyry copper-gold belt in Serbia.

Under Mr. Chen’s leadership, Zijin has added 40.39 million tonnes of copper, 1,739 tonnes of gold, and 9.69 million tonnes of zinc in resources through its own exploration programs. The company is China’s largest by copper and gold resource holdings, and its gold, copper, zinc, and silver production ranks No. 1 in the country and among the world’s top ten.

Advancing Low-Grade Ore Extraction and Talent Development

Amidst rising exploration difficulty and declining ore grades worldwide, Mr. Chen has called on the industry to scale up the extraction and retreatment of low-grade resources, providing practical pathways for maximum resource extraction and a green mining transition.

He also puts a strong focus on the recruitment and training of geologists—regularly visiting China-based and overseas projects to guide fieldwork, and supporting experts to obtain “Competent Person” credentials internationally. Zijin is among the first in China to build a corporate Competent Person team. Mr. Chen’s strategy for developing talent with international competence and his research results and innovative practices in economic geology chart a course for enhancing China’s global competitiveness in geological exploration.

About the J.S. Lee Prize for Geological Sciences

The award commemorates Li Siguang, also known as J. S. Lee, an eminent geologist, renowned scientist, educator, and social activist. It promotes the spirit of science, inspires geoscientists across China, and stands as the country’s highest honor in the field.

In 2025, the prize began a new charter, consolidating the prior three main awards and an honorary award into two categories: the Field Award and the Research Award. This change underscores the dual nature of geologists’ work: solid fieldwork as the foundation, and relentless technological innovation as the driving force.