Wedoany.com Report-Dec.29, On December 24, Jiangxi Copper announced that on December 24, 2025 (local time in London), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Jiangxi Copper Hong Kong Investment, it has made a formal offer to acquire all issued and to-be-issued share capital of SolGold plc (excluding shares already held by the company) at a cash price of 28 pence per share. The total acquisition amount is approximately £867 million (approximately RMB 8.2 billion), representing a premium of about 42.9% over the price before initial contact in November this year.

As China's largest integrated copper producer, Jiangxi Copper has world-leading smelting capacity. In 2024, its cathode copper production reached 2.29 million tons, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the national total, making it the largest copper processing producer in China. However, on the resource front, Jiangxi Copper's self-produced copper-in-concentrate output in 2024 was 199,700 tons. Financial reports show that in 2024, the company's total ore raw material cost was RMB 27.559 billion, with a self-sufficiency rate of only 20.97%, meaning the vast majority had to be procured from overseas.

The Cascabel project, wholly owned by SolGold, is located in Imbabura Province, Ecuador, and is one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped copper-gold deposits discovered in South America in the past decade. SolGold positions it as a "multi-generational asset supporting over 50 years of mining," with the goal of becoming one of the top 20 integrated copper-gold mines in South America.

The main Alpala deposit of the Cascabel project has proven, probable, and inferred resources, including 12.2 million tons of copper, 30.5 million ounces of gold, and 102.3 million ounces of silver. Its average copper grade reaches 0.78%. The project completed a pre-feasibility study in 2024, with plans to commence early works in 2026 and achieve first production in 2028. According to the pre-feasibility study report, the mine is expected to have an operational life of 28 years, with average annual production of 123,000 tons of copper, 277,000 ounces of gold, and 794,000 ounces of silver. During peak capacity, annual copper production is expected to exceed 216,000 tons.

The Cascabel project can double Jiangxi Copper's resource reserves and annual copper production, highlighting its immense importance! As of December 24, Jiangxi Copper announced that it has made a formal, unconditional offer to SolGold through its wholly-owned subsidiary. Simultaneously, Jiangxi Copper has already obtained irrevocable commitment support from SolGold's board and key major shareholders (including mining giants BHP and Newmont). This support, combined with Jiangxi Copper's existing shareholding, collectively controls approximately 40.6% of the shares. Upon completion of this transaction, SolGold will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jiangxi Copper.