Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, Chinese mining companies are accelerating international acquisitions to secure critical raw materials, marking the most active year for overseas deals in over a decade. Data from S&P and Mergermarket reveals 10 Chinese mining transactions exceeding $100 million in 2024 – the highest count since 2013.
As the world’s largest consumer of strategic resources, China has long relied on overseas investments to ensure supply. Analysts note the current acquisition surge reflects a strategic urgency: Chinese firms are racing against tightening political resistance in countries like Canada and the United States that threatens to close investment channels. Recent examples include Zijin Mining Group’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Kazakhstan’s Raygorodok gold mine announced last week, and Baiyin Nonferrous Group’s $420 million purchase of Brazil’s Mineração Vale Verde copper-gold mine from Appian in April.
A joint report by Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) and China’s Green Finance & Development Center (GFDC) highlights that China’s overseas mining investment under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached a record $21.4 billion in 2024. Launched in 2013, the BRI has now exceeded $1.1 trillion in cumulative investments across 149 countries, focusing on mining, energy, and transportation. Geographically, Africa, Bolivia, Chile, and Indonesia saw particularly strong engagement.
While BRI traditionally prioritizes infrastructure and transport projects, mining remains pivotal at 17.6% of total BRI investments in 2024, second only to energy (32.5%), stated Christoph Nedopil, Director of GAI and expert on China’s overseas investment. This reflects China’s strategic pivot toward high-tech industries like EV batteries and renewables, coupled with increasing sophistication in deal execution.
GAI reports China controls over 80% of global graphite resources and more than half of worldwide processing capacity for lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite. Despite this dominance, China remains heavily dependent on imported raw materials. Analysts note Chinese miners employ distinct strategies – including longer investment horizons and higher risk tolerance in politically unstable regions – to outmaneuver Western competitors for assets.
Soaring gold prices are accelerating China’s mining expansion. Chifeng Gold, China’s largest private gold producer, exemplifies this trend: its output skyrocketed from just 2 tonnes in 2019 to 15.2 tonnes in 2023 across operations in China, Ghana, and Laos.
With global gold production stagnant near 2018 levels and few major discoveries, mergers and acquisitions have become essential for growth. Competition intensifies as players like China’s CMOC Group, Australia’s Northern Star Resources, and South Africa’s Gold Fields aggressively acquire smaller miners.
