en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, nearly 80 shareholders visited Chihong Zinc & Germanium, a subsidiary of China's Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), to gain firsthand insights into the latest progress of this 75-year-old lead-zinc enterprise in resource security, technological innovation, green development, and structural adjustment. Against the backdrop of complex global macroeconomic conditions and persistent fluctuations in lead-zinc prices, this shareholder trip aimed to assess the long-term value of a company that has weathered 75 years of challenges.

As a lead-zinc enterprise with a high domestic resource self-sufficiency rate, leading smelting scale, and a comprehensive industrial chain, Chihong Zinc & Germanium has consistently strengthened its resource security position in recent years. The company adheres to a mineral exploration strategy of internal growth and external expansion, achieving during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period an increase in lead-zinc resource reserves exceeding consumption. It discovered over 2 million tons of lead-zinc metal resources at low cost in Bijie, Guizhou. Company Chairman Yang Meiyan has repeatedly emphasized that technological innovation is the source of development. The company has built competitive advantages across the entire "exploration-mining-selection-smelting-materials" industrial chain, with germanium-rich lead-zinc metallogenic theory, deep-well mining technology, low-alkali sequential preferential flotation processes, and green short-flow technologies becoming key technological supports. The company also possesses comprehensive recovery capabilities for 10 rare and precious metals, including gold, silver, germanium, and indium, and has industrialized some of these achievements.

In terms of green development, Chihong Zinc & Germanium has built a total of 7 green mines and 5 green factories. Its main mines have achieved waste-free mining, with all tailings used for underground backfilling. The company's carbon footprint certification covers its main mining, selection, and smelting products, and it has been listed for consecutive years among the energy efficiency "leaders" in key industries.

From a financial structure perspective, Chihong Zinc & Germanium's asset-liability ratio dropped to 27.70% by the end of 2025, a record low since its listing; it remained at 27.88% in the first quarter of 2026, far below the average level of the non-ferrous metals industry. The company actively reduced its interest-bearing debt, which stood at 3.838 billion yuan at the end of 2025, down 25.87% year-on-year. In cost control, the company's competitive advantages continue to strengthen: in the first quarter of 2026, the full cost of mine lead-zinc decreased by over 39% year-on-year, firmly placing it in the industry's top tier; the full cost of zinc smelting decreased by 72.77% year-on-year, achieving a decline for seven consecutive years. In terms of product structure, the company owns 183 zinc alloy grades, holding the second-largest market share in China, and focuses on developing high-precision lead-zinc alloys, high-purity zinc, and other high-end products. The minor metals business has become a significant profit growth driver, with production approaching 4,000 tons in 2025 and revenue from strategic emerging industries exceeding 9 billion yuan. Looking ahead, the company will continue to deepen efforts in resource expansion, technological innovation, and shareholder returns. The asset injection of Jinding Zinc & Germanium and Yunnan Copper Zinc & Germanium is underway, with the company committing to complete the injection by 2029 to resolve horizontal competition issues. The company plans to drive growth in mineral production and improve operational performance by enhancing process efficiency, asset utilization rates, and capital turnover efficiency.