Jinchuan eyes nonferrous peak via M&A

The first choice that came into the company's sight was the Bahuerachi copper property in Mexico, which, at that time, was owned by Tyler Resources Inc. After due diligence, Jinchuan Group confirmed the Mexican property contained reliable resources needing a high degree of geological exploration. It also offered large scope for exploration. The comprehensive utilization value of resources was high.

Later on, Jinchuan Group and Tyler Resources planned to sign an agreement to jointly develop the Bahuerachi copper property, with the former holding a 19-percent stake.

However, when the two companies were about to sign the deal, Tyler Resources was sent a tender offer notification. That prompted Jinchuan Group to take over Tyler.

After due diligence, a tender offer and a government review, Jinchuan Group completed the acquisition of Tyler for a consideration of $161 million, and went on to take full ownership of the Bahuerachi copper mine.

After the acquisition, Jinchuan Group invested in infill drilling, geological prospecting, pre-feasibility studies and feasibility studies. Now, Jinchuan Group is working on a new plan and looking for strategic investors to jointly develop the copper property.

Having gained good knowledge in Mexico, Jinchuan Group went on to take over five other overseas mining companies through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In all, it now owns 10 nonferrous mines.

Currently, Jinchuan Metorex Ltd in southern Africa owns five nonferrous mines, with two achieving safe production and operation, one put into operation in 2017 and the other two nascent. The Indonesia Jinchuan and WP&RKA Co is undertaking its lateritic ore project, which started to produce ore since November 2017. The company's Wesiswe Platinum project in South Africa is under construction, and is estimated to produce 600,000 tons of platinum per year by 2021.

Wang said in the next stage, the company will actively respond to the country's Belt and Road Initiative, and continue to acquire mining projects through M&A.

Specifically, it will lay emphasis in Africa and Southeast Asia, where the company had established resource bases. "The resource bases there support and guarantee our main business," Wang said.

Li Weiqiang, an industry expert at Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd, said: "With surging domestic demand and increasingly fierce market competition in the mining industry, many Chinese enterprises have turned to overseas resource projects. And overseas M&A activities are a good choice to secure domestic resource supply."

Jinchuan Group's cooperation with international banks also promoted its overseas business. To complete overseas M&A, it teamed up with a number of renowned international banks such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of Montreal, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered Bank. These banks also facilitated the company's operations relating to international capital such as international asset injection and overseas renminbi issuance.

By the end of June, Jinchuan Group's overseas direct investment totaled $2.1 billion. Its overseas total assets were worth $5.7 billion, with $2.5 billion worth of net assets. In the first half of this year, the company's overseas revenue was $3 billion. The total number of overseas employees was 2,825.

According to United States-headquartered business magazine Fortune, the company ranked 369th on its 2019 Global 500 list.