# Zijin Mining

Zijin Mining Group Co., Limited is a multi-national mining company headquartered in Longyan, mainland China.

## Background

Zijin is a Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed mining company principally engaged in the prospecting, exploration, and mining of gold, copper, and other mineral resources with operations in 11 countries. Its largest shareholder Shanghang Minxi Xinghang State-Owned Property Investment Company, which holds 24% of Zijin, is owned by the government of Shanghang County, Fujian Province, where Zijin's head office is located. Zijin is the largest gold, copper and zinc producers in China.

## Activities

In 2006, Zijin had 49.28 tons of the gold output and the gold produced from mining reached 20.70 tons, respectively accounting for 20.53% of China's total gold production and 11.51% of the gold produced from mining in China in the same year. In 2010 gold output had reached 69 tons but was expected to be only 37 tons in 2018, slightly less than the previous year.
In December 2019, Reuters reported that Zijin had agreed to buy Canadian miner Continental Gold Inc. for C$1.3 billion. The company claimed that Continental's principal asset, the Buritica project, had gold reserves of 165.47 tons and an inferred reserve of 187.24 tons.
On October 18, 2022, Zijin purchased Iamgold's stakes in their Surinamese mining operations: a 95% interest in the Rosebel gold mine and a 70% interest in the Saramacca mine. On February 1, 2023, the seller Iamgold announced that the deal had been completed.

## Equity investments

Reference from the official website.
| Company | Year | % of Share Capital |
| Barrick Niugini Limited | 2015 | 50% |
| Kamoa Holding Co. Limited | 2015 | 49.5% |
| RTB Bor Group | 2018 | 63% |
| Neveun Resources Limited | 2019 | 100% |
| Continental Gold Company | 2020 | 68.77% |
In October 2021, Zijin acquired junior lithium explorer Neo Lithium Corp. for C$960 million. In July 2024, Zijin acquired a 9.9% stake in Canadian miner Montage Gold.

## Incidents
### Major acid spill

On July 3 and July 16, 2010 acid waste escaped the Fujian province copper plant and into the Ting River. The accident was said to be the size of the BP deepwater oil spill. The copper plant manager, deputy manager and head of environment were detained because the company waited nine days before revealing the incident.

### Fatalities at dam collapse

In September 2010, four people were killed when a dam collapsed at the Xinyi Yinyan tin mine, following heavy rain. The dam collapse was said to be caused by rainfall generated by a typhoon occurring only once in more than 200 years.

### Theft in Colombia

In 2023, an armed group in Colombia seized control of a gold mine operated by the Zijin Mining Group near Buriticá. The group, estimated to have around 7,000 members, infiltrated the mine and established control over sections of it. Over a period of time, the group extracted approximately 3.2 tons of gold, equivalent to roughly 38% of the mine's annual production. This gold, valued at approximately $200 million based on current market prices, was extracted through unauthorized mining operations within the mine's tunnels.

## Criticism
### Air pollution in Bor, Serbia

Several protests have been held in Bor in eastern Serbia over excessive air pollution that has been intensified since Zijin took over copper miner Rudarsko-Topioničarski Basen (RTB) in late 2018. Since January 2019, Bor has been struggling with excessive air pollution, with sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels topping 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter, up from the maximum allowed 350. Protesters demanded that the city government urgently adopt a plan so that the line ministry and state inspectorates can react to the alarming pollution levels in Bor. As early as April 2019, the inspector had ordered the company to take action against air pollution of the environment, human health and the environment, because it emitted excessive SO2. Zijin then explained in a letter to the Ministry of Environment that the power outage had caused pollution. However, control a few months later, in August, showed another omission – Zijin did not have a system for wet dust removal during the transportation of tailings on the Bor mine, which also threatened human health and the environment. Zijin was ordered to solve the problem, and the company later told the Ministry that a dust suppression system had been installed, which was put to trial. In November 2019, CINS sought an interview with Zijin on the topic of air pollution, to which the company responded with a press release. It says that by the end of the year, the company will have a total of five SO2-neutralized dust spray machines. Documentation obtained by CINS shows that by that time, two of the machines purchased had been in operation for about two months, but pollution data showed that it had no significant effect on the reduction of sulfur dioxide.

### U.S. sanctions

In January 2025, subsidiaries of Zijin Mining were banned from importing to the United States under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

## Carbon footprint

Zijin Mining Group reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 31 December 2020 at 5,322 Kt (+1,279/+32% y-o-y). The growth accelerated relative to the long-term trend (+26% CAGR) observed since 4Q'17.
Zijin Mining Group's Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) (in kilotonnes) :
| Dec 2017 | Dec 2018 | Dec 2019 | Dec 2020 |
| 2,125 | 2,458 | 4,043 | 5,322 |