Zijin unit eyes tungsten and uranium investments

ZIJIN Mining Group, China’s biggest gold and copper producer, is looking to expand into tungsten and uranium as the global race to secure critical minerals drives prices higher, said Bloomberg News on Thursday.Gold Mountains Asset Management, a wholly-owned Zijin subsidiary that manages more than $6bn in assets, is actively seeking exposure to the strategic metals, said Lisa Liu, the firm’s MD and portfolio manager.“We are looking to expand our position in tungsten and other strategic metals,” including uranium, Liu told the newswire.Tungsten, a super-dense material used in drilling equipment and armour-piercing weaponry, has more than doubled in value this year following Chinese export curbs and rising military demand. Uranium prices have also rallied sharply over the past few years in anticipation of surging atomic energy demand, said Bloomberg.Rare earths are also on Gold Mountains’ radar, though Liu cautioned that quality projects are scarce. Many are either prohibitively expensive or require extended development timelines before generating returns, she said.The firm, which holds stakes in Montage Gold and Equinox Gold among other investments, maintains a substantial cash buffer to move quickly on opportunities. “If a major shareholder suddenly looks to offload a large stake, we can step in and absorb it immediately,” Liu said.Gold remains central to the firm’s strategy, with roughly 75% of assets allocated to the metal. “Given all the uncertainty – whether it’s global conflicts or changes to monetary systems – there has to be an anchor for storing wealth,” Liu said. “That anchor will inevitably be gold.”The post Zijin unit eyes tungsten and uranium investments appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com