China’s mining giant Zijin tops US$100 billion in value to near BHP, Rio Tinto

China’s Zijin Mining Group is worth more than US$100 billion at the market close for the first time, after a decade-long growth push that’s put it in the big league of metals miners along with Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group.

The company’s Shanghai shares closed on Thursday (Sep 25) at their highest level ever, delivering a market capitalisation of about 732 billion yuan (S$132.4 billion) amid rising prices for its linchpin commodities, copper and gold. The firm is also in the midst of planning a public listing for its international gold business.

The group’s latest valuation caps a remarkable rise for Zijin, founded by geologist and now group chairman, Chen Jinghe. Starting with a small gold mine in southeastern China in the 1980s, in value terms it is now surpassed only by two storied global mining groups: Rio at around US$112 billion on Thursday and BHP at US$140 billion.

The stock has more than doubled in 2025, with gold breaking records and copper on track for its best year ever in terms of average prices. The firm has focused most of its expansion efforts on those two metals, which accounted for 77 per cent of its revenue in this year’s first half.

The Chinese group will list Zijin Gold International in Hong Kong on next Tuesday, aiming to raise US$3.2 billion. That unit, which holds the company’s gold mines outside China, will remain under the control of the group company. BLOOMBERG