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Mia Nurmamat

Two established Chinese mining companies plan to jointly acquire and develop gold, copper and other critical mineral projects in Tibet, marking the latest corporate push to tap the region’s resources as Beijing seeks to strengthen domestic supplies of strategic raw materials.
Privately controlled Xizang Zhihui Mining and state-owned Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement on Thursday to pursue joint investment in mining projects in the autonomous region.
In a statement, Zhihui Mining said the partners would target reserves of strategic minerals including copper, molybdenum, chromium, antimony, gold, tungsten and zinc.
“Importantly for the market, the joint venture will not be restricted to Tibet,” the company said. “The model, once proven, could be replicated for high-quality non-ferrous mining projects elsewhere in mainland China, further expanding the scope of investment.”
The agreement is the latest example of state-owned and private-sector miners taking part in Beijing’s most recent nationwide drive to expand mineral exploration, which began in 2021.
The campaign has gained urgency as competition intensifies over rare and critical minerals used in military equipment, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, particularly amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and concerns about global supply-chain security.
“Tibet is not only an important national ecological-security barrier, but also a strategic reserve base for the country’s natural resources,” Zhihui Mining said.

At least nine strategic minerals found in Tibet rank among China’s top three by known resource volumes, according to regional authorities. The region ranks first nationwide for identified resources of copper, chromium, antimony, salt-lake lithium and boron.
These minerals are used extensively in power grids, electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy equipment, aerospace, semiconductors, defence systems and high-performance alloys.
“Tibet has a significant and diverse mineral resource base,” said Liu Wenjing, a member of the AIFC Executive Council for the Mining Sector and founder and principal adviser of Elistra Advisory Limited. “Copper, chromium, lithium, lead, zinc and gold are among its notable mineral resources, and there remains considerable exploration potential.
“What the market is increasingly looking at is not simply one or two metals, but a broader group of minerals that are becoming increasingly important to the energy transition, advanced manufacturing and supply-chain security,” she said. “Tibet has significant exposure to several of these strategic and critical minerals.”
The China Geological Survey said last year that more than 20 million tonnes of copper resources had been newly identified across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since the start of the country’s 14th five-year plan in 2021.
The public institution under China’s Ministry of Natural Resources estimated the plateau’s total copper potential at 150 million tonnes and said the area could become a world-class copper resource base.
“Having substantial resources underground does not necessarily mean they are straightforward to develop,” Liu said. “High-altitude operating conditions, infrastructure and logistics constraints in some areas, environmental and permitting requirements, and development costs all need to be taken into account.
“The next thing to watch is whether this framework can translate into specific, investable mineral projects,” she added. “Then the key questions will be the scale and grade of the resources, the stage of exploration, permitting status and ultimately the development economics.”
Listed in Hong Kong in 2025, Tibet-focused Zhihui Mining operates the Mengya’a zinc-lead-copper mine in Nagqu. Its open-pit operation began production in 2007, while its underground section entered commercial production in 2025, giving the mine a combined ore-supply capacity of about 400,000 tonnes a year.
Zhaojin Nonferrous, meanwhile, develops gold and base-metal resources, operating mines across several of China’s mineral-rich provinces, including Yunnan, Guizhou and Shandong.
Tibet is already home to some of China’s largest state-owned mining operations. Among them is the Yulong mine, which contains copper, molybdenum, iron and gold and produced about 152,000 tonnes of copper in 2025.


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Economy

China Economy

Xizang Zhihui Mining and Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining will pursue joint investment in mining projects in the autonomous region


Xizang Zhihui Mining and Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining will pursue joint investment in mining projects in the autonomous region.


Tibet

Hong Kong

China

Chinese miners partner to tap Tibet’s critical minerals amid Beijing’s resource push

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Xizang Zhihui Mining and Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining will pursue joint investment in mining projects in the autonomous region

Xizang Zhihui Mining and Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining will pursue joint investment in mining projects in the autonomous region