Profits soar, stock prices hit new highs! Zijin Mining claims "risks are unprecedented," as major powers' competition for key minerals has entered a high-intensity confrontation stage

The world's third-largest mining company, Zijin Mining, issued a warning alongside its record quarterly performance, stating that geopolitical tensions and resource nationalism will pose challenges to its overseas projects, with global uncertainty reaching unprecedented levels.

According to Jianwen article, Zijin Mining's latest financial report shows that net profit for the first half of 2025 reached 28.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 55%, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 23.3 billion yuan, up 54% year-on-year.

Driven by performance, Zijin Mining's Hong Kong stock hit an all-time high on Wednesday, with a cumulative increase of over 75% this year. The company's current market value exceeds 80 billion USD, making it second only to Rio Tinto and BHP among global metal mining companies.

Zijin Mining stated, "Global uncertainty has become unprecedented, and the competition among major powers for critical minerals has entered a phase of high-intensity confrontation," which may affect the company's revenue, profits, and new overseas projects.

The company emphasized that political, policy, and legal differences among countries, as well as resource nationalism sentiments, may pose certain challenges to construction and production operations.

Volume and Price Increase Drive Record Performance

The latest financial report shows that Zijin Mining's performance in the first half of the year was mainly driven by rising metal prices and steady production increases. The company achieved operating revenue of 167.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%, with an overall gross profit margin for mineral products reaching 60.23%, up 3 percentage points year-on-year.

In terms of production, the company's copper production reached 570,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 9%; gold production was 41 tons, up 16% year-on-year; and silver production was 224 tons, an increase of 6% year-on-year.

From a business structure perspective, copper business sales revenue accounted for 27.8%, with gross profit accounting for 38.5%; gold business sales revenue accounted for 49.1%, benefiting from a significant rise in gold prices, with gross profit accounting for 38.6%, becoming an important engine for profit growth.

In terms of resource reserves, Zijin Mining continues its "exploration + acquisition" dual-drive strategy. During the reporting period, the company added 2.049 million tons of copper resources on an equity basis, with reserves of 1.322 million tons; it added 888 tons of gold resources, with gold reserves of 345 tons.

Additionally, the company has continuously acquired the Akim gold mine in Ghana and the Raygorodok gold mine in Kazakhstan, achieving important strategic layouts in West Africa and Central Asia.

Intensified Geopolitical Risks, New Challenges for Overseas Expansion

Zijin Mining emphasized the multiple challenges facing the mining industry, from rising costs to trade turbulence, as well as countries seeking to protect their own resources. Zijin Mining stressed:

"The differences in politics, policies, and laws between countries and regions, as well as resource nationalism sentiments, may pose certain challenges to construction and production operations."

The company emphasized that critical minerals are various materials deemed essential to national security due to their important industrial or defense applications, but initiatives to reshape supply chains may expose prices to volatility and supply disruption risks, as seen with the impact of tariffs on copper imposed by Trump earlier this year According to media reports, the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo mediated by Trump is seen as a way for the United States to more easily access the mineral wealth of the region.

It is worth noting that a flooding incident occurred at the Kamoa Copper Mine in the Congo, leading to a significant downward adjustment of the annual production plan from 520,000-580,000 tons to 370,000-420,000 tons, which is expected to impact the company's annual copper equity production by 44,000-93,000 tons.

Although Zijin Mining's management stated that this incident would not have a significant impact on the company's annual copper production, this unexpected event may still pose a shock to the performance in the second half of the year.

Zijin Mining provided a detailed assessment of the market outlook for various metals.

In terms of the copper market, the company believes that the introduction of U.S. copper tariffs, combined with low global inventories, "may trigger market volatility in the short term as trade flows are reshaped."

Regarding the gold market, the company stated that expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, geopolitical tensions, a weak dollar, and central bank purchases will further enhance the attractiveness of gold.

In the zinc market, zinc prices are under pressure in the short term, with the market in a tight balance, as production in China increases but overseas faces production cut pressures.

In the lithium market, the company warned that disruptions in supply expectations may intensify, leading to high price volatility, and the clearing of excess supply will still take time