Zijin Mining acquires Chifeng Gold for 18.2 billion yuan, marking the transfer of the largest private gold mining enterprise.

Ask AI · How will the $10 billion merger and acquisition by Zijin Mining reshape the gold industry landscape?

On March 23, international gold prices continued to decline, and the overall A-share gold sector came under pressure, with Zijin Mining and Chifeng Gold both declining on their first day of trading after resumption. As of the time of writing, Chifeng Gold’s stock hit a 10% limit down, and Zijin Mining fell by 2.8%.

The previous evening, Zijin Mining disclosed a billion-dollar merger and acquisition plan. According to the company’s announcement, its wholly-owned subsidiary Zijin Gold acquired a 25.85% stake in Chifeng Gold through a combination of “agreement transfer + targeted issuance,” totaling approximately 18.258 billion yuan, gaining control of the latter and achieving consolidation.

Specifically, Zijin Gold purchased 242 million A-shares from the original actual controller Li Jinyang and his concerted parties at 41.36 yuan per share, with a transaction amount of about 10.006 billion yuan, a 1.3% premium over the pre-suspension closing price. Simultaneously, it subscribed to 311 million H-shares of Chifeng Gold at 30.19 Hong Kong dollars per share, with a subscription amount of about 9.386 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to approximately 8.252 billion yuan, at a price about 83% of the six-month average price before suspension.

After the transaction, according to the company’s announcement, Zijin Mining holds approximately 572 million shares of Chifeng Gold, accounting for 25.85% of its total share capital after the issuance. The original actual controller Li Jinyang has fully exited, and Chifeng Gold is officially incorporated into Zijin Mining. Public information shows that as the largest private gold producer in China, Chifeng Gold ranks among the industry leaders in both resource reserves and output. This change of ownership signifies the integration of private gold giants into the industry capital.

In fact, domestic mining companies have been actively engaging in overseas mergers and acquisitions recently. According to reports from Shanghai Securities News and other media, Luoyang Molybdenum in January 2026 acquired four operating gold mines in Brazil for up to $1.015 billion. The deal was completed in just 40 days from signing to settlement, with an expected gold production of 6 to 8 tons in 2026. The company has clarified its “copper-gold parallel development” strategy. Jiangxi Copper also made an approximately 867 million GBP offer to acquire Sol Gold, securing the Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador, which has copper resources of 12.2 million tons and 30.5 million ounces of gold. Lingbao Gold, Shengtuo Mining, and others have also completed layouts in Papua New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other regions.

Zijin Mining’s acquisition of the largest private gold mining company domestically not only consolidates its scale advantage but also complements its overseas mines. From an industry perspective, four of the top five gold producers have state-owned backgrounds. This merger further emphasizes the trend of “the strong get stronger” in the industry landscape.

Cover image source: Zijin Mining official website