Zijin Mining’s first-half net profit slid 18.4% amid falling copper, zinc prices

 

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Zijin Mining, one of the largest gold, copper and zinc producers in China, said that its net profit for the first half of 2023 slid by 18.4% from a year earlier to 10.3 billion yuan, due to heightened global geopolitical risks and an economic recovery that did not meet expectations.

Revenue amounted to 150.3 billion yuan during the period, up 13.5% from a year earlier.

The decline in profit was mainly due to the declines in copper and zinc prices as well as rising costs including, it said. The cyclical retreat of copper and zinc prices led to a decrease in profit of 1.56 billion yuan, the company said.

In the first half of the year, the global geopolitical risks escalated and economic recovery was weaker than expected, which dragged on the prices of metals including copper and zinc. During the period, Zijin Mining’s sell prices of copper and zinc fell by 7.5% and 32.9%, respectively, from a year earlier, though gold prices rose by 10.3%, it said.

The company’s production of main mineral products steadily increased to hit a new high on record, it said. In breakdown, its copper output reached 490,000 tonnes, rising by 14.2% from a year earlier; output of gold reached 32 tonnes, rising by 19.6%; while output of zinc reached 240,000 tonnes, rising by 5%.