Global metals miner Zijin confirmed it produced more than one million tonnes of mined copper 2023, and now has the distinction of being the first Chinese miner to do so.
In total, the company said its production was 1.01Mt, or 54% of the total output of China, 1.87Mt, in 2022.
In addition to copper, Zijin also said it had a 20% jump in mined gold to 67 tonnes and a 3% increase in zinc and lead to 467,000t.
Since putting a global strategy into place in 2013, Zijin has achieved a compound growth of 23% in mined copper over the last decade. Its focus now is ramping up production capacity; that includes expansion plans at the Kamoa copper mine to boost it to over 800,000t – which would make it the world’s second largest copper mine.
Its Julong copper operation in Tibet is also advancing its second and third phases to a target annual production of 6000,000t. In Serbia, it is working to position itself as Europe’s largest copper product and up its annual capacity by 500,000t.
More than 40% of Zijin’s copper output comes from its Chinese assets, with the Julong mine in Xizang playing a key role.
Source: Zijin Mining