China's Chengtun Mining Rises on Plan to Buy 30% Interest in DRC Copper-Cobalt Mine for USD300 Million

(Yicai) April 8 -- Shares of Chengtun Mining Group advanced after the Chinese miner said it plans to spend USD300 million to obtain an indirect 30 percent interest in a copper-cobalt mining project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Chengtun [SHA: 600711] was trading up 6.7 percent at CNY14.42 (USD2.11) as of 10.45 a.m. in Shanghai today.Chengtun's wholly-owned subsidiary Preeminence Holdings intends to acquire a 50 percent stake in Nkoyi Leopard Mining and Investment, a unit of Abu Dhabi-based Novel Mining and Services, for USD300 million, Chengtun announced yesterday, adding that this would give it an indirect 30 percent stake in Nkoyi's copper-cobalt mine in the DRC.Located in the heart of the Central African Copper Belt, the mine covers an area of over 10.9 square kilometers and holds mining rights valid through January 2040, the Xiamen-based firm noted.Chengtun's technical experts estimate that the grades of existing copper and cobalt resources in the mine are 1.66 percent and 0.67 percent, respectively, according to drilling data. The reserves of copper resources are projected to significantly exceed the Chinese standards for large-scale copper mines.Once the deal is completed, Chengtun expects the mine to undergo an 18-month construction period, followed by 24 months to achieve full-power production. Chengtun and Nkoyi will split the mining and construction costs based on their shareholding ratios.Incorporated in October 2024, Nkoyi has not yet begun operations. Once in service, it will become an associate of Chengtun, but it will not be consolidated into the Chinese company's financial statements.The deal extends Chengtun's push into overseas assets. In February, it completed the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Canada's Loncor Resources for about CAD261 million (USD188.6 million), adding gold mining to its portfolio.The Chinese mining sector is experiencing a wave of consolidation. In March, China Minmetals announced plans to absorb Minmetals Mining Holdings and Minmetals Luzhong Mining via asset swaps and share issuance. In the same month, Yunnan Copper said it bought a 40 percent stake in Liangshan Mining for CNY2.3 billion (USD336.7 million), with CNY1.5 billion raised through a share placement.Earlier this year, CMOC Group completed the acquisition of three gold assets from Canada's Equinox Gold -- the Aurizona Mine, RDM Mine, and Bahia Complex -- with combined gold resources of over five million ounces.As resource acquisition shifts from greenfield development to competition over existing assets, capital execution and technological capabilities will define who leads the industry, Bai Wenji, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Union, told China Securities Journal. The era of large-scale mining consolidation may have only just begun, he noted.Editor: Futura Costaglione