China’s Zijin Buys Ghana Gold Mine From Newmont for $1 Billion
(Bloomberg) -- Zijin Mining Group Co. has bought the Akyem gold project in Ghana for as much as $1 billion in cash as the state-owned firm looks to add resources to meet its aggressive output targets.
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The purchase from US-based Newmont Corp. will allow China’s largest listed metals producer to mine high-grade ore bodies from one of the world’s major gold belts, Zijin said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.
Akyem’s open pit mine held 34.6 tons of reserves as of December, according to the filing. Underground operations are expected to begin from 2028, extending the mine’s life to 2042 and delivering about 5.8 tons of gold a year.
The Fujian-based mining giant extracts gold, copper and lithium from across the globe after an exploration and acquisition blitz over the last three decades. It aims to increase mined output of gold to 85 tons in 2025 and to as much as 110 tons in 2028, from 68 tons in 2023. Africa has emerged as a prime investment location for Chinese miners as Beijing aims to develop ties with the resource-rich continent.
Gold prices have been on a tear this year, hitting a series of record highs as investors scoop up the precious metal to benefit from lower US interest rates and to guard against rising geopolitical tensions across the world.
The transaction still requires regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, Newmont said in its own statement. The sale is part of the Denver-based company’s effort to raise $2 billion in the wake of its acquisition of Newcrest Mining Ltd. last year.
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This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing unless noted.)
Wednesday, Oct. 9:
China to release Sept. aggregate finance & money supply by Oct. 15
CCTD’s weekly online briefing on Chinese coal, 15:00
Thursday, Oct. 10:
Nothing major scheduled
Friday, Oct. 11:
China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report
China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~15:00
Saturday, Oct. 12:
Nothing major scheduled
Sunday, Oct. 13:
China inflation data for September, 09:30
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