China’s Zijin Mining Group (HKG: 2899) has become the world’s third-largest mining company by value after surpassing $100 billion in market capitalization for the first time at Thursday’s close.
The milestone places Zijin alongside global heavyweights BHP (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), which closed Thursday with market values of A$212 billion ($140 billion) and A$169 billion ($111 billion), respectively.
On Thursday, Zijin’s Shanghai shares hit a record high, lifting its market capitalization to 732 billion yuan ($103 billion). With this, it took the No. 3 spot globally from Glencore (LON: GLEN), which has a market capitalization of £39.76 billion ($53 billion).
The surge comes amid record gold prices and copper’s strongest year on record, which together generated 77% of Zijin’s first-half revenue. The stock has more than doubled in 2025, with gold setting fresh records and copper on track for its best year ever in terms of average prices.
From one mine to global player
Founded in the 1980s by geologist and current chairman Chen Jinghe, Zijin grew from a small gold mine in southeastern China into a sprawling global player. The company now controls or holds majority stakes in hundreds of operations worldwide. In the past year alone, it added Serbia’s largest copper mine, Kazakhstan’s Raygorodok gold mine, and Ghana’s Akyem gold mine to its portfolio.
The company is also preparing a Hong Kong listing for its international gold business, Zijin Gold International Co., which holds all its gold mines outside China. The IPO, scheduled for next week, aims to raise $3.2 billion and would be the world’s second-largest this year.
Zijin expects the spin-off to expand its financing channels and improve capital efficiency.
(With files from Bloomberg)
