Chinese Miners Seeking $1.3bn Acquisitions

Dave Forest at Pierce Points highlights recent plans by Chinese miner Zijin to spend $1.3bn this year alone on Gold and Copper projects over 3m oz and 2bn lbs, particularly gold in Africa.

Meanwhile China Molybdenum also expressed interest in copper projects in developed countries, and countries with stable political conditions, following the example of their $820m purchase of the Australian Northparkes Copper Mine from Rio Tinto.

China Molybdenum’s chairman Li Chaochun was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying, “We are bullish on copper over the long run. It is one of our investment priorities.”

Forest - Both announcements suggest that demand for quality mining projects from China is going to remain high. Both in established jurisdictions–and frontier economies such as in Africa. 

It will be interesting to note whether specific African jurisdictions see favour or whether good projects in more difficult regimes can be taken on with the weight of the Chinese state support where Western investors fear to tread.