Zou Laichang
PRESIDENT: Zijin Mining Group
Zijin will watch for opportunities among high-impact, very large mines or mid-tier companies.
Zou Laichang steps into some mighty shoes following the retirement of Zijin Mining’s founder, Chen Jinghe last year, aged 68. Chen was renowned for buying wisely and it’s plain Zou wants to continue in that vein. He said in a statement on January 2 Zijin would watch for opportunities among “high-impact, very large mines or mid-tier companies”. Recent dealmaking burnishes the corporate reputation. Zijin last year doubled its money in Perseus Mining in which it had bought a stake.
It also closed a $1.2bn takeover in June of Raygorodok, one of Kazakhstan’s largest gold mines. But the single most important event for the Chinese miner was the $3.2bn spinoff of its international gold mines in Hong Kong during September. Zijin Gold has made a near immediate splash. In late January, it launched a C$5.5bn offer for Allied Gold, a 400,000 ounce a year miner that, if the deal is concluded, will significantly expand Zijin Gold’s African footprint. It wasn’t sunshine and roses for Zijin in 2025, however. Seismicity at Kakula in the Democratic Republic of the Congo resulted in a major reduction in copper production at the 550,000-tons-a-year Kamoa-Kakula mine, controlled by Ivanhoe Mining.
In another setback, Ghana said it would not renew stability agreements on royalties and taxes which comes only a year after Zijin bought Newmont’s Akyem mine for $1bn. Zijin is also in the crosshairs of the US government. This was after Morgan Stanley was questioned in the US House of Representatives for its role in helping to list Zijin Gold. It’s therefore helpful Zou will retain the knowledge of Chen who is now Zijin’s honorary chair. Analysts downplayed Chen’s impending departure, saying the firm’s competitiveness was “systematic and structural”.
LIFE OF ZOU
Previously the president of the Fujian-based miner, Zou replaced founder Chen Jinghe, who had led Zijin for more than three decades and oversaw its expansion into a global mining major. Zou, an engineer, holds an MBA from Xiamen University. He is a recipient of the Special Government Allowance from China’s State Council, according to Zijin’s website. He also serves as vice president of the China Gold Association.
