HONG KONG, Feb 27, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co., Ltd. (“Chifeng Gold”), the largest non-state owned gold producer in China, today announced the details of the proposed listing of its shares on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKEX”).

Chifeng Gold intends to offer an aggregate of 205,652,000 H Shares (subject to the Offer Size Adjustment Option and the Over-allotment Option), of which 20,565,200 H Shares will be for the Hong Kong Public Offering (subject to reallocation and the Offer Size Adjustment Option), and 185,086,800 H Shares will be for the International Offering (subject to reallocation, the Offer Size Adjustment Option and the Over-allotment Option). The Offer Price ranges from HK$13.72 to HK$15.83 per H Share. Assuming that the Over-allotment Option is not exercised, after deducting the underwriting commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by Chifeng Gold in connection with the Global Offering, and assuming an Offer Price of HK$14.78 per Share (being the mid-point of the indicative Offer Price range), the estimated net proceeds from the Global Offering will amount to approximately HK$2,886.8 million. As part of the Global Offering, Chifeng Gold has the Offer Size Adjustment Option under the Hong Kong Underwriting Agreement, pursuant to which, Chifeng Gold may issue and allot any number of up to an aggregate of 30,847,800 H Shares, representing approximately 15% of the Offer Shares initially offered under the Global Offering, at the Offer Price, to cover additional market demand, if any.

The Hong Kong Public Offering will commence on 28 February 2025 (Friday) and will end at noon on 5 March 2025 (Wednesday). Dealing of Chifeng Gold’s H Shares is expected to commence on the Main Board of HKEX on 10 March 2025 (Monday) under the stock code 6693, with each board lot size at 200 H Shares.

CITIC Securities (Hong Kong) Limited is the Sole Sponsor. CLSA Limited is the Sponsor-Overall Coordinator, Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager. Macquarie Capital Limited is the Overall Coordinator, Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager. China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited is the Joint Global Coordinator, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Manager.

Investment Highlights

Chifeng Gold is the largest non-state owned gold producer in China and is mainly engaged in the mining, processing and sales of gold. Its gold Resources and gold production rank fifth among the gold producers in China. Currently, Chifeng Gold owns and operates six gold mines and one polymetallic mine across the world, including China, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. For the three financial years ended 31 December 2023, Chifeng Gold’s total revenue continued to grow, reaching approximately RMB3,782.6 million, RMB6,266.8 million and RMB7,221.0 million, respectively. For the nine months ended 30 September 2024, Chifeng Gold’s total revenue amounted to RMB6,222.8 million.

China’s largest non-state owned gold producer with leading production and revenue growth and promising market prospects

From 2021 to 2023, Chifeng Gold’s gold production has grown rapidly, with total gold production volume of 260 koz, 436 koz and 461.5 koz, respectively, which represents a CAGR of 33.1%, making it the leading gold producer in terms of gold production growth rate in China during the period. In addition, Chifeng Gold’s domestic gold mines have relatively high ore grades, making them some of the top-tier deposits in China. According to Frost & Sullivan, as of 31 December 2023, Chifeng Gold’s major domestic gold mines, namely the Jilong Gold Mine, Wulong Gold Mine and Huatai Gold Mine, had the highest gold grades among the top five gold producers in China.

Chifeng Gold has high visibility and certainties in its production expansion plans for its gold mines and aims to achieve Resources and Reserves enhancement through exploration activities. In terms of overseas gold assets, Chifeng Gold is accelerating the construction of the open-pit and underground mining projects of the Sepon Gold and Copper Mine, which is expected to increase the annual underground mining capacity from the current 536,000 tonnes to 806,000 tonnes by 2025. Meanwhile, Chifeng Gold is accelerating the modelling and study of exploration prospects at Discovery West Deeps and Phavat North with open-pit and underground mining potentials. The annual underground mining capacity is expected to be further increased after 2026 and 2027. In terms of domestic gold assets, Chifeng Gold’s Wulong Gold Mine has been undergoing several technological improvement projects. It is estimated that the annual processing capacity of the Wulong Gold Mine will increase from 578,000 tonnes to approximately 700,000 tonnes by the end of 2024. At the same time, Chifeng Gold has also initiated an expansion project at the Jilong Gold Mine to increase its annual mining capacity to approximately 300,000 tonnes by the end of 2025.

Excellent track record of identifying acquisition targets, executing transactions and integrating businesses, with rich overseas experience and strong international reputation

Chifeng Gold believes that a core competitiveness metric of gold companies is the ability to continuously obtain high-quality mineral resources. Newly discovered gold deposits in China have been limited in recent years, and the grade of gold is generally at a relatively low level. As a result, in addition to developing its existing gold mines in China, Chifeng Gold has strategically focused its expansion plan on identifying and acquiring suitable and high-quality overseas assets to maintain a sustainable growth. As of 30 September 2024, its overseas assets accounted for approximately 65.2% of its total assets, and its overseas revenue accounted for approximately 71.2% of its total revenue. According to Frost & Sullivan, Chifeng Gold is the gold company in China with the greatest overseas presence both in terms of overseas assets contribution as of 31 December 2023 and in terms of overseas revenue contribution in 2023.

Chifeng Gold’s management team has profound experience in overseas acquisitions and is highly competent in integrating and operating acquired overseas assets and can leverage its advantages in overseas expansion to achieve sustainable and efficient growth. Similar to Chifeng Gold’s acquisition of the Sepon Gold and Copper Mine in Laos in 2018 and the Wassa Gold Mine in 2022, Chifeng Gold was one of the first large-scale Chinese mining companies operating in Ghana. Chifeng Gold has continued to promote an inclusive culture and localized management and operation concepts during the integration process, establishing a sound relationship with the local governments and local communities, and earning accolades for contributing to regional development. 

Continuously improving the cost curve to enhance efficiency through technological upgrade and to drive profitability

Chifeng Gold continues efforts to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of its operations, aimed at achieving and maintaining a more favorable position on the cost curve relative to its industry peers. Chifeng Gold’s operational efficiency enhancement surpassed the worldwide industry average by a notable margin and is positioned lower in terms of gold AISC than that of the global average. As of 31 December 2023, Chifeng Gold’s gold AISC stood at US$1,179.1 per ounce, placing it in the first quartile in the worldwide industry, while the global average for the same period was approximately US$1,348.5 per ounce, which is 14.4% higher than Chifeng Gold’s. In 2023, Chifeng Gold decreased its gold AISC by 12.0%, whereas the average AISC for international gold producers increased by 7.2% during the same period.

As for the overseas operation, Chifeng Gold has made significant progress in reducing unit costs at the Sepon Gold and Copper Mine through improvements in gold recovery rates and the implementation of underground mining projects. Chifeng Gold also adopted a series of capital investments and operational improvements which were completed to debottleneck process constraints and improve plant reliability and efficiency. Besides, it optimized procurement channels, enhanced material utilization, and increased production capacity. In terms of domestic operation, Chifeng Gold has sought to continuously improve its operational efficiency and recovery rate at its mines through incremental changes and investments. The operational effect of these continuous improvements is evident from the fact that in 2023 Chifeng Gold’s PRC Gold Mines recorded an average gold AISC of approximately US$877.4 per ounce, showing a year-on-year decrease of 27.2%.

Strong social responsibility and solid commitment to promoting green and sustainable development with high ESG standards

Chifeng Gold attaches great importance to the environment and workplace safety, cares about the people and communities in which it operates and actively fulfills its social responsibilities. International industry standards and best international practices are applied in Chifeng Gold’s overseas mines and the same standards are adopted in its domestic mines on a step-by-step basis. For example, Chifeng Gold executes relevant ESG procedures in accordance with the standards required by the World Gold Council (WGC) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and publishes ESG reports regularly. Chifeng Gold’s commitment to sustainable development and its focus on diversity and inclusion have been acknowledged through various honors and ratings.

Seasoned and dedicated management team with a proven track record in mine operations

Chifeng Gold has assembled a highly skilled and experienced team of industry and capital markets experts, covering a broad range of disciplines, including, corporate management, mining, processing, geology, finance, and law, among other areas. Mr. Wang Jianhua, Chairman and Executive Director of Chifeng Gold, is a transformative and efficient leader who is renowned for his exceptional leadership skills within major corporate entities, brings a wealth of experience in management and corporate governance which is characterized by an emphasis on employee safety and welfare. Mr. Wang successfully led and managed a drilling program through 2021 to 2022 in the Dandong area that set a record-breaking depth of 3,003 meters, which introduced a new era of deep-drill gold exploration in China’s northeast region. Ms. Yang Yi-fang, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Chifeng Gold, has extensive managerial experience in the global mining industry, Hong Kong listed companies and capital markets in general. Since joining Chifeng Gold, Ms. Yang has implemented a series of management and operational changes to strengthen the Company’s cashflow management, internal control and corporate governance, and championed technological upgrades across its operations throughout the world to minimize costs, improve mine recovery rates, advance operational excellence, and improve employee health and safety.

Business Strategies

Continue to increase Ore Reserves through exploration activities and expand production volume at existing mines to realize full growth potential
Chifeng Gold’s existing mines at home and abroad are situated in favorable mineralization environments, showcasing significant exploration prospects across the majority of the relevant mining regions. Therefore, Chifeng Gold plans to further maximize the potential of its existing mines by continuous production expansion, further exploration and Reserve enhancement:

- Wulong Gold Mine: Chifeng Gold has identified several areas of gold mineralization in its mining area and its peripheral areas, which is a precursor to exploration and reserve enhancement in its deep and peripheral areas. Chifeng Gold is advancing underground development projects to increase its annual processing capacity to approximately 700,000 tonnes by the end of 2024. The mine’s average daily processing capacity increased to over 1,800 tonnes in the second half of 2023. Chifeng Gold will also continue to dedicate resources to exploration and reserve enhancement to tap into the potential of resources in the deep and peripheral areas. Chifeng Gold is also cooperating with the China Geological Survey Bureau Shenyang Geological Survey Center, which is expected to strengthen the exploration foundation.

- Jilong Gold Mine: Chifeng Gold has achieved promising results in both peripheral and deep drilling programs, including the discovery of industrial ore bodies in six drill holes. Chifeng Gold completed a 180,000-tonne processing plant expansion project and commenced trial production in June 2024. Chifeng Gold plans to increase its annual mining capacity to approximately 300,000 tonnes by the end of 2025. Construction of a new tailings storage facility has commenced, with other construction projects progressing as planned. Chifeng Gold has entered into a framework agreement with Aohanqi Longxing Resources Development Company Limited, which is expected to expand its exploration area.

- Huatai Gold Mine: The expansion project is currently under construction, and it will initiate a comprehensive transformation of the mine’s infrastructure and the commencement of shaft engineering construction by the end of 2024. Infrastructure development is expected to be nearly complete by the end of 2026, with the Huatai Gold Mine gradually resuming mining operations in 2026. Upon completion, the annual mining capacity is expected to increase by an additional 30,000 tonnes.

- Sepon Gold and Copper Mine: Chifeng Gold will continue its further construction and production expansion plans for the underground mines and proceed with exploration in the peripheral areas of the mine. Chifeng Gold is also conducting a series of research projects at the underground copper mine and open-pit copper mine to increase gold and copper Reserves and further improve ore processing recovery rates.

- Wassa Gold Mine: Chifeng Gold will further expand its mining and processing capacity with the goal of developing the Wassa Gold Mine into a large-scale gold mine. Chifeng Gold expects to achieve (i) annual processing capacity of approximately 3.3 million tonnes, and (ii) annual gold production of 350 koz by the end of 2028. Chifeng Gold will also carry on its exploration of the peripheral areas of the Wassa Gold Mine for more Resources and Reserves as well as a longer mine life.

Continue to obtain Resources and Reserves and increase production volume through domestic and overseas acquisitions of high-quality gold assets for robust and sustainable growth
Chifeng Gold will remain focused on quality assets at home and abroad to further expand the amount and production scale of gold Resources and further consolidate and strengthen its market position. Chifeng Gold evaluates potential acquisition targets based on four key factors, namely (1) asset quality and production volume, (2) asset location, (3) asset stage, and (4) equity stake of assets. At the same time, it intends to persist in acquiring further cutting-edge, international technologies and mining management techniques, operational models, and global talent through overseas acquisitions for its long-term development. Chifeng Gold also actively implements international strategies and progressively infuses ESG principles into all facets of its mining production and operations across the world. As a prominent national gold enterprise in China with a strong international outlook, Chifeng Gold joined the Shanghai Gold Exchange as a full-fledged member in 2023 and has won multiple national accolades and awards for its efforts in promoting mining safety, environmental protection and sustainable development.

Continue to improve production efficiency, reduce costs and increase profitability

With the current industry trend of increasing overall costs in the gold mining sector and the scarcity of high-grade Mineral Resources, Chifeng Gold recognizes the critical importance of enhancing operational efficiency, reducing expenses, and boosting profitability for its long-term sustainability. Chifeng Gold’s strategies include the continuous exploration of innovative technologies and a dedicated focus on cost-cutting measures such as centralized procurement, organizational streamlining, workforce optimization, and prudent assessment of gold production and pricing strategies.

Chifeng Gold has utilized its global centralized procurement center in Shanghai for its domestic and overseas mines and intends to effectively control and reduce procurement costs through centralized procurement and resource optimization to secure low prices and favorable contractual terms. In addition, it intends to consistently apply tailored strategies based on the specific circumstances of each mine to reduce costs and enhance efficiency, and to continue research into processing technologies to optimize Resource utilization. In addition to cost reduction and efficiency improvement, Chifeng Gold will also strive to enhance operational efficiency, especially after the acquisition of new assets. It will improve the corporate framework to lower administrative expenses and identify other cost-saving methods to support its commitment to prudent financial stewardship and the enduring success of its business.

Adhere to the corporate culture of “Mutual Prosperity and Development” and improve ESG governance

Chifeng Gold firmly believes that highly efficient systems and mechanisms are key factors for achieving continuous business growth and success in the global gold mining industry. Therefore, it will continue to value and realize the corporate culture of “Mutual Prosperity and Development”. Looking ahead, Chifeng Gold will further expand the scope of equity incentives and offer equity or phantom stock incentives to domestic and overseas teams to enhance employee engagement and performance.

Chifeng Gold will also consider the environment and safety, caring for employees and the community, and assuming social responsibility as important goals for its corporate development initiatives. Chifeng Gold is committed to energy saving and emissions reduction, and its mining activities are shifting to cleaner and more efficient energy sources. In particular, the Jilong Gold Mine is planning to build a 10-megawatt solar power plant, and the Wulong Gold Mine, Sepon Gold and Copper Mine, and Wassa Gold Mine are also actively planning to develop renewable energy systems. Going forward, Chifeng Gold aims to expedite the advancement of new energy infrastructure, actively participate in low-carbon transitions, systematically and gradually phase out fossil fuels through diverse clean energy blends, and realize the transition to substantial decarbonization.

Use of Proceeds

Assuming that the Over-allotment Option is not exercised, after deducting the underwriting commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by Chifeng Gold in connection with the Global Offering, and assuming an Offer Price of HK$14.78 per Share (being the mid-point of the indicative Offer Price), Chifeng Gold estimates that the net proceeds will be approximately HK$2,886.8 million from the Global Offering. Chifeng Gold intends to use the net proceeds from the global offering for the following purposes, subject to adjustment based on Chifeng Gold’s evolving business needs and changing market conditions:

About Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining Co., Ltd.

Chifeng Gold is the largest non-state-owned gold producer in China, mainly engaged in the mining, processing and sales of gold, with leading growth in gold production. As of 10 February 2025, Chifeng Gold owned and operated six gold mines and one polymetallic mine across the world, including China, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. Chifeng Gold has experienced the fastest growth among major gold producers in China and ranks fifth among gold producers in China in terms of gold resources. Chifeng Gold’s A Shares are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under stock code 600988.

[1] According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2023, (i) Chifeng Gold ranked fifth among gold producers in China in terms of gold Resources, with gold Resources of 13.6 million oz; and (ii) Chifeng Gold ranked fifth among gold producers in China in terms of gold production, with production of 461.5 koz of gold.
[2] According to Frost & Sullivan.
[3] According to Frost & Sullivan.
[4] According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2023, (i) Chifeng Gold ranked fifth among gold producers in China in terms of gold Resources, with gold Resources of 13.6 million oz; and (ii) Chifeng Gold ranked fifth among gold producers in China in terms of gold production, with production of 461.5 koz of gold.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In evaluating Chifeng Gold’s business, prospective investors should carefully consider the information provided in the Prospectus, including, but not limited to, the sections headed “Risk Factors” and “Business.” Prospective investors should make an independent assessment of the merits, risks or otherwise of any investment in the shares of the Company and should seek third-party professional advice. The Company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments. Capital at risk.

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