Jinchuan eyes nonferrous peak via M&A

Gansu's metal producer, owner of 10 mines abroad, seeks to strengthen overseas play

Jinchuan Group Co Ltd, a prominent nonferrous metal producer based in Northwest China's Gansu province, has been stepping up efforts in recent years to acquire overseas peers so as to meet surging demand in the global market.

By 2020, it plans to raise its annual production of nonferrous metals and new materials to 2 million metric tons, and that of chemical products to nearly 5 million tons, helping its output value to surpass 110 billion yuan ($15.6 billion).

That would mark a significant rise from 2018 levels when it produced 1.50 million tons of nonferrous metals and new materials, and 4.26 million tons of chemical products.

Founded in 1959, Jinchuan Group boasts an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of nickel, 1 million tons of copper, 10,000 tons of cobalt, 3.5 tons of platinum group metals, 30 tons of gold, 600 tons of silver, 200 tons of selenium and 5.6 million tons of chemical products.

Its annual output of nickel and cobalt rank third and fourth in the world respectively.

Given its solid and steady business, the company expects to reach operating revenue of 250 billion yuan in 2020, up 13 percent from 2018, for a profit of 6 billion yuan, 139 percent higher than that of 2018, with the asset-liability ratio seen at lower than 60 percent.

"Our go-global strategy implementation started in March 2007, when we realized that solely relying on domestic mineral resources was far from enough," said Wang Yongqian, Party secretary and chairman of Jinchuan Group.

He noted that the mineral deposits in Gansu had been exploited for over half a century, and the ore reserves were declining year by year. In the long term, it would not satisfy the company's demand.

"At that time, it was urgent to explore overseas mineral resources to establish a solid and reliable source of resource supply," Wang said.