Design Contract Signed for China's Guizhou Zhugongtang Lead-Zinc Mine RMB 6.25 Billion Zinc-Germanium Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 23, the engineering design contract signing ceremony for the Guizhou Dingshengxin Zinc-Germanium New Materials Green Intelligent Manufacturing Project was held at Hezhang Dingshengxin Mining Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hezhang Dingshengxin Mining"). This marks a key step in the development of the super-large Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine in Guizhou toward deep processing and the field of rare and scattered metal new materials.

Hezhang Dingshengxin Mining is a mixed-ownership enterprise led by private capital, and Guizhou Dingshengxin Zinc-Germanium New Materials Co., Ltd. is its controlling subsidiary. It is understood that the Zinc-Germanium New Materials Green Intelligent Manufacturing Project has a total investment of RMB 6.25 billion. This engineering design contract signing means the project is about to enter the full implementation stage.

This signing coincides with the release of the results of the country's new round of strategic action for mineral exploration breakthroughs. On September 22, the State Council Information Office held a press conference in its "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" series, at which a relevant official from the Ministry of Natural Resources disclosed that the newly added resources of the Chating copper-gold mine in Anhui and the Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine in Guizhou have reached super-large scale. Among them, the filed lead-zinc metal resources of the Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine have reached 5.178 million tonnes, with ore resources of 60.512 million tonnes, ranking among the top ten lead-zinc deposits in the country by resource scale. This authoritative release at the national level has given special significance to this signing.

The Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine is a super-large deposit discovered by Guizhou Province in the new round of strategic action for mineral exploration breakthroughs. It not only has enormous lead-zinc resources, but is also associated with a variety of rare and precious metals such as germanium, gallium, silver, and copper, with outstanding comprehensive recovery value. The proven discovery of this mine fills the gap of super-large lead-zinc deposits in Guizhou Province and also provides a solid resource foundation for Guizhou's implementation of the "precise development of rich ores" strategy.

However, possessing resources is only the first step. As a major province in mineral resources, the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government have deeply advanced the "precise development of rich ores" strategy, requiring the transformation of resource advantages into industrial advantages and development advantages. The Party committees and governments at the two levels of Bijie City and Hezhang County have seized the opportunity of the new round of strategic action for mineral exploration breakthroughs, relied on the resource endowment of the super-large Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine, actively introduced chain-leading enterprises, and promoted the local conversion and local value-added development of lead-zinc resources.

How to truly achieve "precise development" of "rich ores" and transform resource advantages into industrial advantages has become a key topic jointly advanced by the province, city, and county. The implementation of this project is precisely a key step taken by Hezhang County to implement Guizhou Province's "precise development of rich ores" strategy and promote the extension of the lead-zinc industry into deep processing and the field of rare and scattered metal new materials.

In June this year, the Hezhang County People's Government and Guizhou Dingshengxin Zinc-Germanium New Materials Co., Ltd. officially signed an investment agreement. The Zinc-Germanium New Materials Green Intelligent Manufacturing Project with a total investment of RMB 6.25 billion settled in Hezhang, filling the industrial gap in Guizhou Province in the field of intelligent manufacturing of zinc-germanium new materials.

The project is laid out according to the integrated whole-chain approach of "exploration—mining—beneficiation—smelting—deep processing." After reaching full production, it can produce 220,000 tonnes of high-end zinc alloy materials and 80,000 tonnes of lead ingots annually, while efficiently recovering high-value-added rare and precious metals such as germanium and silver, and supporting the construction of a sulfuric acid production line with an annual output of 580,000 tonnes. It is expected to drive the annual output value of the regional lead-zinc full industrial chain to exceed RMB 10 billion.

The signing of this engineering design contract is a key link in the project's implementation. Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., which undertakes the whole-process design services for the project, is a leading enterprise in China's nonferrous metal smelting engineering design field, with deep accumulation and technical advantages, and more than 70 years of industry experience. In the field of zinc smelting, the institute has fully mastered core technologies such as fluidized roasting—leaching zinc smelting, pressure leaching zinc smelting, large cathode plate electrowinning and automatic zinc stripping, and recovery of associated rare and scattered metals. This cooperation will provide solid technical support for the project's high-starting-point design and high-standard construction.

Germanium, as a national strategic mineral, plays an irreplaceable role in fields such as optical fiber communications, infrared optics, and solar cells. China is an important global germanium resource country and holds an important position in the global germanium supply chain. The associated germanium resources of the Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine provide Guizhou with a unique resource endowment for entering the rare and scattered metal new materials track. After the project is completed, it will build a complete product matrix from lead-zinc concentrate to zinc ingots and lead ingots, and then to rare and precious metals such as germanium ingots and silver ingots, promoting Guizhou's strategic mineral resource industrial chain to climb toward the high end of the value chain.

Bai Guanghui, Chairman of Hezhang Dingshengxin Mining, said that the enterprise will refine the construction plan, reverse-schedule the construction period, fully accelerate preliminary work such as procedure handling, engineering design, and procurement of core equipment, seize the window period to speed up project implementation, proactively fulfill the social responsibilities of a leading enterprise, and help Hezhang achieve the leap from a major resource county to a strong industrial county.

Tan Ronghe, Chairman of Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute, said that Changsha Institute will rely on its years of technical accumulation in the fields of lead-zinc smelting and rare and precious metal recovery, precisely align with Dingshengxin Mining's development plan and construction standards, and make every effort to build a modern benchmark boutique project with leading technology, green low-carbon features, and strong market competitiveness, helping Guizhou Province develop its deep-processing system for associated rare and precious metals in lead-zinc resources.

From more than 5 million tonnes of lead-zinc metal resources underground to the green intelligent manufacturing industrial park about to rise above ground; from extracting resources to manufacturing materials, from extensive output to deep processing—what the Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine is writing is a vivid story of a resource-based region achieving high-quality development through scientific and technological innovation and industrial chain extension. With the full launch of design work, this largest lead-zinc mine in the southwestern region is accelerating toward a new industrial realm of "precise development of rich ores."

Tan Ronghe, Chairman of Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgy Design and Research Institute, and Bai Guanghui, Chairman of Hezhang Dingshengxin Mining, attended the signing ceremony for the Construction Project Design Contract. Before the signing ceremony, the two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on project design concepts, process routes, green low-carbon development, and intelligent factory construction.