For a company founded in 1999, Sinomine Resources Group Co., Ltd. has moved far too fast to spread its wings across the corners of the globe.

Sinomine has businesses in more than 40 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Oceania, and has branches in China, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia and other countries.

In March 2024, Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinomine Resources Group Co., Ltd., acquired the Tsumeb smelter from Dundee Precious Metals Inc.

The company acquired Dundee’s 98% issued shares of Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb Holding (Pty) Ltd. for US$49 million in cash.

The Tsumeb smelter is one of the few speciality smelters capable of handling complex, high-arsenic-copper concentrates. The smelter has mature technology, well-developed infrastructure, and convenient transportation, and the plant is connected by rail to the Atlantic port of Walvis Bay.

The smelter has a concentrate processing capacity of 260,000 tons/year, and the main products are blister copper and sulfuric acid. Through the technical upgrade, it is expected that the concentrate processing capacity can be increased to 370,000 tons/year.

Sinomine Resources Group Co., Ltd’s main business includes lithium battery new energy raw material development and utilisation business, rare light metal (caesium, rubidium) resource development and utilisation business, solid mineral exploration and mining rights development business.

The company is also engaged in the mining of lithium ore, the research and development, production and sales of lithium salts on a global scale; mining of caesium-rubidium ore, R&D, production and sales of caesium-rubidium salt; geological exploration and acquisition of high-quality lithium and caesium ore resources to ensure self-sufficiency in raw materials.

It obtains and explores self-owned mining rights, increases resources/reserves, realises value transformation, carries out technical geological exploration services and provides professional services for owners.

The company says the acquisition of Tsumeb smelter aligns with its strategic need to accelerate the development of the copper ore business.

Sinomine Resources chairperson Wang Pingwei told Namibia’s ambassador to China, Elia Kaiyamo, on Tuesday last week that as a responsible Chinese enterprise, Sinomine Resources has long been deeply involved in the mining market of Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other central and southern African countries.

Wang said Sinomine has won the trust and support of the governments and people of the countries where it operates.

According to Wang, Sinomine Resources will actively promote the delivery of the Tsumeb copper smelter in strict accordance with the requirements of Namibian laws, continue to expand investment and accelerate the pace of construction after the completion of the delivery to make the project glow with new vitality and more incredible benefits as soon as possible, make due contributions to the economic and social development of Namibia, bring more benefits to the Namibian people, and help China-Namibia “Belt and Road” cooperation to a higher level.

Kaiyamo, who visited the Sinomine headquarters, expressed hopes that Sinomine Resources would complete the delivery of the Tsumeb copper smelter as soon as possible and carry out operation and construction as planned, making it a landmark project of the “Belt and Road” cooperation between Namibia and China. Kaiyamo also said he hopes that Sinomine will create more jobs and wealth for the local community and people and positively contribute to the development of Namibia’s mining industry.

Zambian acquisition

A few days after acquiring the Tsumeb smelter, the Sinomine executive attended a signing ceremony for their new copper project – the Kitumba Mine – in Zambia.

The Kitumba Copper Mine is about 240 km west of Lusaka, Zambia, with good road conditions and other infrastructure, and it has a mining area of 248 square kilometres. The mining rights are valid from November 2014 to November 2039 and are currently in a state of pending development.

African Minerals Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinomine Resources, entered into the acquisition with Momentum Ventures Limited and Chifupu Resources Limited.

Sinomine paid US$8.5 million in cash for a 50% stake in Junction Mining Limited, held by Momentum and a 15% stake in Junction, held by Chifupu.

Junction’s primary asset is the Kitumba Copper Project in Zambia.

Upon completion of the transaction, Sinomine Resources will have an aggregate 65% equity interest in Junction and a 65% interest in the Kitumba Copper Project.

The Kitumba copper prospect has a cumulative retained copper resource of 27.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.2% copper, including 614,000 tonnes of copper.

Sinomine Resources also jointly owns the Kahishi Copper-Gold Mining and Dressing Cooperation Project in Zambia.

Sinomine Resources Zambia Geological Engineering Company and Daye Kaiyuan Industry and Trade Co., Ltd jointly own this project.

The Kahishi copper-gold mine, about 43 kilometres northeast of Lusaka City, started production in December 2021.

The parties constructed a concentrator with a daily ore processing capacity of 350 tons and have built a new production line with a daily ore processing capacity of 700 tons.

They anticipate the annual copper ore processing capacity to be about 300,000 tons.

The Kahishi ore body is divided into two parts: east and west. The eastern ore body (No. 4/0/78) has an ore volume of 1.2536 million tons, an average grade of Cu of 3.18%, and a Cu metal volume of 39,900 tons.

The western ore body has an ore volume of 1.97 million tons, an average grade of Cu of 1.54%, and a Cu metal volume of 30,900 tons.

Sinomine is part of a joint venture with the DRC government called Sino Congolaise des Mines (Sicomines), which allowed Chinese investors to obtain mining rights to cobalt and copper in the DRC.

The joint venture deal signed in 2007 entailed Chinese companies exploiting minerals in exchange for infrastructure.

Two years of investigating

The company says it took almost two years of investigation and demonstration to successfully acquire Tsumeb Smelter’s equity in Namibia and Kitumba Copper Mine in Zambia in a short period.

“Sinomine Resources is comprehensively accelerating the development and layout of copper resources and will take a series of measures such as development and construction, exploration and reserve increase, technological transformation and production improvement in the future to form a linkage of the copper industry chain and provide new growth points for the sustainable development of the company.”