Zijin Mining’s Peggy Copper-Gold Mine officially put into operation

From left to right are Chen Bo, Wu Qiqi, Qiu Guozhu

Another world-class mine project under Zijin Mining has a bright moment. On October 22, Belgrade time, the official commissioning ceremony of the Serbian Chukalu Peggy copper-gold mine was held in Bol, where the project is located.

Serbian President Vucic, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo, Zijin Mining Chairman Chen Jinghe Special Representative Qiu Guozhu jointly touched the start switch, symbolizing the important cooperation project between China and Serbia on the “Belt and Road” cooperation project and the official start of another world-class mine of Zijin Mining. It means that the company has taken a big step towards the goal of catching up with the world’s super-class mining companies.

“This mine looks so spectacular, I never dreamed that it would look like this!” Vucic exclaimed after visiting the Chukalu Peggy Copper and Gold Mine.

Vucic pointed out that the newly-built Peggy copper-gold mine with an investment of USD 474 million by Zijin Mining will become the first green mine in Serbia, which means that modern technology is used in the ore mining process to meet the highest standards in the field of environmental protection.

Vucic spoke highly of the Peggy project and thanked Zijin for creating a bright future for the eastern part of Serbia. He pointed out that since Zijin’s investment, the average salary of employees has increased by 50%, and the tax on mineral resources has increased by three times. Zijin has become one of the largest exporters in Serbia and has made great contributions to Serbia’s economy and employment. Serbia has also become the second largest in Europe. Big copper producer. Zijin’s “high-level” and “modern” brand new mines are worth learning from Serbia. The new mines will not only create “profits” for enterprises, but will also create “profits” for the entire eastern part of Serbia. We call on all those who have left the east to return to this land and their families. Friends build a better future together.

Currently, two of Serbia’s three major export companies are from China. “Without our Chinese friends, none of this would happen.” Wu Qiqi said that he must thank the Chinese partners and the Chinese leaders and the Chinese government for their profound friendship.

Ambassador Chen Bo said that he is very pleased to see that the investment and operation project of Chinese enterprises will become the first “green mine” in Serbia and will continue to operate mines in accordance with the standards of China, Serbia and Europe in the field of environmental protection. The commissioning of the Peggy project is of great significance to the Serbian economy, China-Serbia cooperation and local surrounding residents, and is a concrete manifestation of the achievements of China-Serbia cooperation.

Chairman Chen Jinghe sent a personal letter to President Vucic. In the letter, he expressed his most sincere gratitude to the President for attending the ceremony. He pointed out that the commissioning of the Peggy project is of great strategic significance to Zijin. The company is confident that together with the Serbian government and people, Peggy will be The project is built into a landmark mining development project in Serbia, Europe and the world.

Chen Jinghe said that President Vucic’s presence at the commissioning ceremony of the Peggy project is a full affirmation of the construction work of the project, and it is also an honor for Zijin. The Page project will make a significant contribution to Zijin Mining’s copper and gold output and profits this year and next. More importantly, the subsequent large-scale development of the lower mine belt of the Peggy Project will be launched, and the impact will be even greater!

The mining and beneficiation project of the upper ore belt of the Peji Copper-Gold Mine is designed to process 3.3 million tons of ore per year. The first mining section is an ultra-high-grade ore body. It is expected to produce concentrates containing 50,000 tons of copper and 3 tons of gold in 2021.

The company acquired the upper and lower ore belts of the Peggy Copper-Gold Mine in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and holds 100% of the project. The Zijin team entered at the beginning of 2019 and completed the construction of the upper mine belt mining and dressing project after about two and a half years. It entered the trial production stage in June 2021 and reached the acceptance conditions in a short time, achieving a smooth transition from project construction to production operation. .

The Peggy Copper-Gold Mine is the second world-class mine completed and put into operation by Zijin Mining this year. It is the world’s top ten high-grade super-large copper-gold mines wholly-owned by the company. It is divided into an upper ore belt and a lower ore belt. The resource reserves of the upper ore belt are 1.28 million tons of copper metal with an average grade of 3%, and 81 tons of gold metal with an average grade of 1.91 g/ton. The first mining section is an ultra-high-grade ore body. After it is put into production, it is expected to produce an average of 91,400 copper per year. Tons of gold, 2.5 tons of gold, of which the peak annual output is expected to produce 135,000 tons of copper and 6.1 tons of gold. According to the current high copper and gold prices, the Peggy project will become another important profit contribution point of Zijin Mining, bringing huge benefits to the company. In addition, the resources in the lower ore belt are 14.3 million tons of copper metal, with an average grade of 0.86%, and gold metal 299 tons, with an average grade of 0.18 g/ton.

About 5 kilometers away from the Peggy copper-gold mine project, there is a large-scale Boer copper mine under the Zijin banner. The total copper metal resources of the Peggy Copper-Gold Mine and Boer Copper Mine exceed 25 million tons, and the gold metal resources exceed 740 tons. The large-scale collaborative development of the two major projects will accelerate the improvement of Zijin Mining’s efficiency level.

Relying on systematic independent technology research and development and engineering design and implementation capabilities, it has achieved the “Zijin Speed” of accelerating catch-up. At the end of May, the first phase of the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine, a world-class copper mine owned by Zijin Mining, was completed and put into operation. Recently, the construction of the 3.8 million tons/year concentrator of the second phase of the Kakula Copper Mine has advanced beyond the plan, and it is expected to start production in the second quarter of 2022, several months ahead of the original plan. In addition, the company’s Qulong copper mine, China’s largest porphyry copper mine located in Tibet, is also speeding up construction and will be completed and put into operation by the end of this year.

Also present at the ceremony were former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mines and Energy Zorana Mikhailovich, Minister of Environmental Protection, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, President of the National Bank, Boll More than 300 people including the governor, the mayor of Bol and other government officials, representatives of the embassy in Serbia and representatives of mainstream media and enterprises from China and Serbia participated in the event.