en.Wedoany.com Reported - Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (601899.SH/02899.HK) announced on January 23, 2026, that the second phase of its Tibet Julong Copper Mine has been officially completed and put into operation. Meanwhile, the company is further planning and implementing a third phase. If approved by relevant government authorities, the annual ore mining and processing capacity will reach approximately 200 million tons. Upon full production, the annual copper output will be about 600,000 tons, making the Julong Copper Mine the world's largest copper mine in terms of mining and processing scale. Zangge Mining Co., Ltd. (000408.SZ) stated on June 16, 2026, that the third phase of Julong Copper is being advanced with Zijin Mining as the leading party, with the specific timeline subject to Zijin Mining's overall arrangements.
Located in a high-altitude, oxygen-deficient region above 5,000 meters, the Julong Copper Mine is the world's highest-altitude and lowest-grade super-large copper mine. The second phase adds a capacity of 200,000 tons per day to the original 150,000 tons per day, forming a total production scale of 350,000 tons per day. Upon full production, the annual ore mining and processing scale will increase from 45 million tons to 105 million tons, annual copper output will rise from 190,000 tons in 2025 to approximately 300,000 to 350,000 tons (estimated at 300,000 tons in 2026), annual molybdenum output will increase from 8,000 tons to about 13,000 tons, and annual silver output will rise from 109 tons to about 230 tons. Since Zijin Mining acquired and took over the operation of the mine in June 2020, both the first and second phases were completed and put into operation in just about 18 months each.
According to the resource reserves filed by the Julong Copper Mine with the natural resources authorities in 2024, the mine has a total identified copper metal resource of 25.88 million tons, approximately 2.5 times the 10.41 million tons verified at the time of the company's acquisition, making it the copper mine with the largest filed resource reserves in China. Additionally, it has associated molybdenum metal of 1.672 million tons and silver metal of 15,145 tons. If the third phase is approved, the final mining elevation will be lowered from 4,452 meters in the second phase to 3,880 meters, with copper reserves available for development within the boundary exceeding 20 million tons. Zijin Mining's wholly-owned subsidiaries and its controlling listed company Zangge Mining collectively hold an 80.88% interest in the Julong Copper Mine, with the attributable interest to Zijin Mining after penetration being 58.16%.
The commissioning of the second phase of the Julong Copper Mine makes it the largest copper mine in China. If the third-phase plan is realized, it will further consolidate Zijin Mining's position in the global copper industry.
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