In a statement to the Hong Kong bourse on Monday, the company said the deal would increase its gold reserves and output and help it become one of the world’s top three producers by 2028, up from sixth last year.
In May, it said it would seek an annual output target of 100 to 110 tonnes of the precious metal by 2028, up 36 to 50 per cent from 2024.
And two months ago, Zijin said it planned to reorganise its overseas gold mining assets under Zijin Gold International, which was established in 2007, and list it. The move would “create greater value” for shareholders through a revaluation of its assets, it said.
In its latest deal, a firm owned by Zijin Gold International agreed to buy the Raygorodok gold mine project for US$1.2 billion from Cantech, which is based in northern Kazakhstan. At the end of last year, the project had net assets of US$291 million and recorded a net profit of US$202 million on revenue of US$473 million.
Under the mine’s original development plan, at a gold price of US$1,750 per ounce, the project’s economic ore reserve stood at 94.9 million tonnes. At the mine’s average ratio of one gram of gold extracted from each tonne of ore, around 100.6 tonnes of the yellow metal could be produced from its facilities.