Base Metals Sales Exceeding Gold

China's Zijin sees base metals sales exceeding gold
Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:44 AM GMT

BEIJING, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd (2899.HK: Quote, Profile , Research), China's second-largest gold miner, expects its sales of base metals such as copper, lead and zinc to outpace sales of gold as its business expands, its chairman Chen Jinghe said on Wednesday.

"Revenues from base metals will, in future, likely exceed those from gold," Chen told Reuters on the sidelines of a mining conference in Beijing.

"At the moment, gold accounts for 50-60 percent of our revenues, but in the future, we doubt it will stay at that level," Chen said. He did not give a time frame.

Copper currently accounts for about 30 percent of Zijin's revenues, Chen said, with lead and zinc making up the remainder. The firm has said it is looking out for more projects, especially in gold.
Zijin's portfolio of interests includes control of Monterrico Metals (MNA.L: Quote, Profile , Research) a copper miner focused on Peru, where Zijin plans to invest $1.4 billion in the Rio Blanco copper-molybdenum project.

It also has a 20 percent stake in a Philippine gold-copper project and 39 percent in Yulong Copper Co. Ltd., which holds rights to China's largest proven copper resources in a remote Tibetan deposit. It also owns 60 percent of the 100,000 tonne-a-year Bayannaoer zinc smelter in Inner Mongolia.

Next year, Zijin plans to start construction of its Kyzyl-Tashtygskoye lead and zinc project in the Russian region of Tuva. It also plans to start mining gold near Ulan Bator in Mongolia, and is already producing iron ore in Vietnam. (Reporting by Lucy Hornby)