Planned 18.2 Billion to Acquire Control of Chifeng Gold! "Gold Buying Maniac" Zijin Mining Strikes Again, Inner Mongolia Female Tycoon to Exit

Why did Zijin Mining choose to accelerate acquisitions during the gold price correction period?

Source: Times Finance Author: Gao Qiurong

Image source: TuChong Creative

Major transaction in the gold mining industry again!

On the morning of March 23, Zijin Mining (601899.SH/02899.HK) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Zijin Gold (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zijin Gold”) signed a “Share Transfer Agreement” with Li Jinyang, the controlling shareholder of Chifeng Gold (600988.SH/06693.HK), and his concerted party Zhejiang Hanfeng Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter “Zhejiang Hanfeng”), as well as a “Strategic Investment Agreement” with Chifeng Gold, to gain control of Chifeng Gold.

The total transaction value is approximately 18.258 billion yuan, including two parts: an agreement to acquire A-shares and a subscription for targeted issuance of H-shares.

Specifically, Zijin Gold plans to acquire 242 million A-shares of Chifeng Gold held by Li Jinyang and Zhejiang Hanfeng at 41.36 yuan per share, totaling about 10.006 billion yuan; additionally, Zijin Gold intends to subscribe for 311 million H-shares of Chifeng Gold at 30.19 HKD per share through a targeted issuance, with a subscription amount of about 9.386 billion HKD (approximately 8.252 billion yuan).

After the transaction, Zijin Gold will hold a total of 572 million shares of Chifeng Gold, accounting for about 25.85% of its total shares after the issuance. The company will gain control of Chifeng Gold and consolidate its financials. Li Jinyang and Zhejiang Hanfeng will fully exit.

Zijin Mining stated in the announcement that, relying on a flexible and efficient decision-making mechanism, the company seized the market window after the sharp rise and short-term correction of gold prices, actively promoting this transaction. Compared to the usual premium in control transfers of listed companies, the pricing of this deal is cautious and reasonable, aligning with the interests of the company and all shareholders.

The announcement shows that the A-share purchase price is only a 1.3% premium over Chifeng Gold’s closing price before suspension, and the H-share issuance price is about 83% of the six-month average price before suspension. After the announcement, both Zijin Mining and Chifeng Gold’s A and H share prices declined.

As of March 23, Zijin Mining’s A and H share prices fell by over 1% and 2%, respectively; Chifeng Gold’s A-shares hit the limit down at 36.74 yuan per share, and H-shares plummeted over 20%.

“Gold buying frenzy” has announced 28 billion yuan in mineral acquisitions this year

This transaction is the latest step in Zijin Mining’s aggressive expansion in the gold sector.

In 2025, as gold prices soared, Zijin Gold International (02259.HK), a subsidiary of Zijin Mining, successively acquired the Akyem gold mine in Ghana from Newmont Golden Ridge Ltd. (now renamed Zijin Jinling Company) and the RG gold mine in Kazakhstan, with transaction prices of $1.008 billion and $1.00 billion respectively, totaling over 10 billion yuan in RMB equivalent.

During the gold price rally cycle, Zijin Mining has been aggressively “buying up” assets, with mineral gold production reaching 90 tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 23.29%. It is expected that by 2028, mineral gold production will reach 130-140 tons, an increase of over 40% compared to 2025.

Annual report shows that in 2025, Zijin Mining achieved revenue of 349.079 billion yuan, up 14.96% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 51.777 billion yuan, up 61.55%. This marks the first time Zijin Mining’s net profit attributable to shareholders has exceeded 50 billion yuan.

However, since the beginning of this year, the gold price rally has cooled down. On January 29, London Gold and Shanghai Gold prices reached historic highs during trading but then fluctuated and declined, with the current range dropping more than 10%.

“Recently, gold prices have corrected mainly because, despite the ongoing expansion of US-Iran conflicts, gold prices did not follow traditional safe-haven logic and instead fell under the pressure of rising interest rates,” said Qu Rui, Senior Deputy Director of Research and Development at Orient Securities, in an interview with Times Finance. He explained that the failure of the safe-haven logic is not due to weakened gold’s safe-haven properties but results from multiple factors resonating.

As early as January 26 this year, Zijin Gold International announced plans to acquire all issued common shares of Allied Gold Corporation (hereinafter “Allied Gold”, AAUC) at a cash price of 44 CAD per share, totaling about 5.5 billion CAD (roughly 2.8 billion yuan). Core assets of Allied Gold include the Sadiola gold mine in Mali, the Côte d’Ivoire gold complex (including Bonikro and Agbaou mines), and the Kurmuk gold mine in Ethiopia, which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.

Although the current gold price correction provides an excellent market window for Zijin Mining’s “buying spree,” it may also compress the future profitability of gold mining assets.

However, Zijin Mining mentioned that the gold mines under Chifeng Gold are all operational, and the acquisition can contribute to production and profits immediately. There is also potential for further improvement in operational efficiency and capacity, with significant expected economic benefits.

Inner Mongolia female billionaire to exit

One of the counterparties in this deal is Li Jinyang, a female billionaire from Inner Mongolia, whose deep connection with Chifeng Gold began with an inheritance.

Public information shows that Chifeng Gold was founded by Zhao Meiguang, known as one of the “Four Great Rich Men of Inner Mongolia.” In December 2021, Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness. According to her will, all her personal inheritance was inherited by her spouse Li Jinyang, including the controlling stake in Chifeng Gold, making Li Jinyang the actual controller of the company.

Notably, as the actual controller, Li Jinyang has not joined the company’s board of directors nor held any operational positions; she insists on “professional people doing professional work.” Chifeng Gold is operated by a professional management team led by Chairman Wang Jianhua.

In 2025, the rise in gold prices brought substantial profits to Chifeng Gold. Last year, the company achieved revenue of 12.639 billion yuan, a 40.03% increase; net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.082 billion yuan, up 74.70%.

After the transaction, Li Jinyang and Zhejiang Hanfeng will fully exit, and the six gold mines and one polymetallic mine operated by Chifeng Gold will also change ownership.

According to Chifeng Gold’s 2025 annual report, as of December 31 of that year, the company’s consolidated gold resources amounted to 583 tons, with an average grade of 1.54 g/t; copper resources totaled 590,000 tons, with an average grade of 0.35%; zinc (lead) resources were 560,000 tons, with an average grade of 2.91%; molybdenum resources were 80,000 tons, with an average grade of 0.12%; rare earth resources were 60,000 tons, with an average grade of 286.17 g/t.

Among these projects, the Vientiane mine in Laos holds exclusive rights for exploration and mining within a total area of 1,127 square kilometers, including the Sibin deposit, with broad exploration prospects; the Vasa gold mine in Ghana is located in the favorable mineralization zone of the renowned Ashanti gold belt, with significant potential for exploration in the surrounding areas; the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Science and Technology have designated the Wulong mining district as a key exploration target, with deep drilling (up to 3,000 meters) in the northeastern and northwestern solid mineral zones, revealing considerable exploration potential and room for resource expansion.