Photo: Xinhua News Agency

 
China National Gold Group Corp, the only state-owned enterprise in China’s gold industry, will maintain a strong focus on securing strategic mineral resources and stands prepared to capitalize on acquisition opportunities, its chairman said on Wednesday.

"Resources are our lifeline, and we are dedicated to securing strategic mineral resources through resource acquisition and base construction," said Lu Jin, chairman of China National Gold Group Corp, during a performance briefing meeting for two of its listed subsidiaries in Shanghai on Wednesday.

China National Gold Group is primarily engaged in the mining and refining of gold, silver, copper, and molybdenum.

When sharing the group’s strategic deployment and development plans, Lu said that gold and copper prices are at record levels, so the group will take a series of measures to ensure a stable supply of these resources.

In May, US spot gold hit a record high of $2,449.89 per ounce, while copper also surged to record highs.

The group will increase geological exploration efforts and investment, which Lu said could bring huge potential benefits at a small cost. It will also establish strategic cooperation with geological research and survey units at the national level to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of resource exploration.

The group also plans to deepen strategic and geological exploration cooperation with resource-rich provinces, such as Northeast China’s Liaoning Province and East China’s Anhui Province, to strengthen resource reserves.

In addition, in terms of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), the group will adopt a more prudent approach as the group's top priority is to focus on exploration and infrastructure to lay a solid foundation for long-term development, Lu said, noting that the enterprise will not give up any M&A opportunities that are conducive to the development of the group, but will seize the right time to do it based on the market conditions and the group’s conditions.

Zhang Yue, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and independent director of Zhongjin Gold Corp, suggested at the performance briefing that the group also needs to make efforts in technological innovation and AI application to expand its mining resources and promote the progress of the entire industry.

China National Gold Group has seen a significant rise in its performance in recent years. Between 2020 and 2023, the group's cumulative net profit rose more than 3,000 percent from 2016-19, according to Lu.

On the back of the group’s steady development, its Shanghai-listed subsidiaries – Zhongjin Gold Corp and China National Gold Group Gold Jewellery Co – have also seen good performance in 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024.

For example, China National Gold Group Gold Jewellery Co achieved sales revenue of 56.36 billion yuan ($7.95 billion) in 2023, up 19.61 percent year-on-year, and its profits reached 1.2 billion yuan, up 27.04 percent. In the first quarter of 2024, the company’s sales revenue totaled 18.25 billion yuan, up 13.08 percent, with its profits jumping 24.21 percent to 445 million yuan.