Chifeng Gold Changes Hands, Inner Mongolia Mining Tycoon's Widow to Cash Out Billions

Reporter | Yang Yu

Editors | Jin Mingyu, Huang Sheng, Du Bo, Proofreader | Zhang Jinhe

On March 23, the buyer of Chifeng Gold (600988.SH, stock price 36.74 yuan, market value 69.821 billion yuan) was revealed. Zijin Mining (601899.SH, stock price 30.58 yuan, market value 813.11 billion yuan) plans to acquire the actual controller Li Jinyang and his concerted parties through its wholly owned subsidiary, and subscribe to the H-shares of Chifeng Gold issued through a private placement. The total transaction consideration is approximately 18.258 billion yuan.

This official announcement coincided with a sharp fluctuation in international gold prices, prompting market questions about the timing, pricing, and gold expectations of the deal. Particularly, whether Zijin Mining will “buy high” has stirred investor nerves. On March 23, both Chifeng Gold and Zijin Mining saw their stock prices hit by shocks.

Behind the deal is the accelerating concentration of domestic gold market leadership. From Shandong Gold’s acquisition of Yintai Gold to Zijin Mining’s takeover of Chifeng Gold, a source close to the capital market told the Daily Economic News that the trend of “big companies acquiring big companies” in gold mining is becoming clear.

Four years of entrepreneurship and a hundred billion yuan cash-out:

Why did Li Jinyang exit at this time?

In December 2021, Inner Mongolia mineral tycoon Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness, leaving control of Chifeng Gold to his wife, Li Jinyang. The new owner of this mining company made her position clear from the start: she would not hold a position in the company and would fully cooperate with the management team led by Chairman Wang Jianhua.

Since 2022, Chifeng Gold’s performance has steadily improved year after year. Notably, by 2025, the company had completed its listing in Hong Kong, and its revenue surpassed 100 billion yuan in that year, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.082 billion yuan, up 74.70% year-on-year.

Why did Li Jinyang choose to exit her stake when the company was thriving? What is the attitude of the board and senior management of Chifeng Gold? On March 23, a reporter from Meiri Jingji News sent an interview letter to the company’s email, but had not received a reply by press time. The reporter also called the company as an investor, and a staff member said, “She has her reasons, but we’re not exactly sure of the specifics.”

It’s worth noting that Wang Jianhua, the “leader” of Chifeng Gold, is over seventy years old. This veteran in mining has served as Chairman and Party Secretary of Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd., and as Director and President of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. He joined Chifeng Gold in September 2018 and has been Chairman since December 2019.

In the 2025 annual report, Wang Jianhua’s message was unusually sincere, mentioning the “successful completion of director and senior management changes” and reflecting on the benefits of rising gold prices, stating that the company aims to “grow amid change.”

Shortly after the annual report was disclosed, new changes occurred. Zijin Mining announced it would gain control of Chifeng Gold, and Zijin Gold (Group) Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zijin Mining, signed a Strategic Investment Agreement with Chifeng Gold. The total consideration for this transaction is about 18.258 billion yuan.

According to the announcement, the transfer price for Li Jinyang and her concerted parties’ shares is 41.36 yuan per share, with a total transfer price of 10.006 billion yuan.

Trading suspension on the first day: Chifeng Gold hits limit down

Zijin Mining’s President: Gold prices will remain high in the medium to long term

However, with Middle East conflicts and falling gold prices, market feedback on the deal has been lukewarm.

On March 23, Chifeng Gold’s stock hit the limit down on its first day of resumption, closing at 36.74 yuan; Zijin Mining also fell 3.38%. Over the past two weeks, international gold prices have declined significantly.

Is a deal worth over 100 billion yuan still profitable amid gold price shocks?

At the performance briefing on March 23, Zijin Mining’s Vice Chairman and President Lin Hongfu said that in the short term, gold prices will fluctuate sharply, but in the medium to long term, the logic of maintaining high or rising gold prices remains unchanged. The acquisition aligns with the company’s resource priority strategy, and Chifeng Gold has good prospecting potential and capacity for expansion in Ghana, Laos, and domestic mines.

This kind of merger and acquisition among gold mining companies is not isolated. In recent years, against the backdrop of increasing scarcity of gold resources and intensifying global mining competition, the domestic gold market has gradually concentrated among leading companies. These top firms, with advantages in capital, technology, and management, are rapidly acquiring resources, increasing production scale, and optimizing global layout through mergers and acquisitions.

In 2023, Shandong Gold spent 12.76 billion yuan to acquire control of Yintai Gold (later renamed Shanjin International), gaining high-grade, low-cost mining assets under Yintai. Subsequently, Shanjin International further acquired overseas assets, accelerating its global expansion.

A source close to the capital market told Meiri Jingji News that the trend of “big companies acquiring big companies” in gold mining is now dominant—“If you can’t find deposits on your own, just acquire listed companies directly.”

(Contributed by Peng Fei, a reporter for Meiri Jingji News)

Cover image source: Visual China