Chifeng Gold's 18.26 billion stake changes hands to Zijin Mining; founder’s widow transfers hundreds of millions in shares and exits

Changjiang Business News reporter Pan Ruidong

Cangyuan Golden, a “dark horse” in the gold mining sector (600988.SH, 06693.HK), will change hands with industry leader Zijin Mining.

In the evening of March 22, the announcement released by Cangyuan Golden showed that Zijin Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary Zijin Gold will become Cangyuan Golden’s controlling shareholder through a share transfer and a targeted H-share private placement. The total transaction consideration for this deal is approximately RMB 18.258 billion.

Among them, the company’s controlling shareholder Li Jinyang and his concerted-action partner Zhejiang Hanfeng will transfer 12.73% of the company’s shares to Zijin Gold via an agreement-based transfer, with a transaction amount of approximately RMB 10.006 billion.

Changjiang Business News reporter noted that Li Jinyang is 43 years old. He is the widower of Zhao Meiguang, the founder of Cangyuan Golden. In December 2021, Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness, and all of his personal estates (including the controlling stake in Cangyuan Golden) were inherited solely by his spouse Li Jinyang. After Li Jinyang became the actual controller, he did not hold any position at the company, and Cangyuan Golden was governed by professional managers. After this equity transfer is completed, Li Jinyang will no longer hold any shares in Cangyuan Golden.

Cangyuan Golden has just turned in the best-ever financial results. In 2025, Cangyuan Golden achieved operating revenue of RMB 12.639 billion and attributable net profit of RMB 3.082 billion. From 2022 to 2024, Cangyuan Golden’s total attributable net profit was RMB 3.019 billion; the profit in just 2025 alone exceeded the sum of the prior three years.

In the secondary market, affected by factors such as a sharp drop in the international gold price, on March 23, Cangyuan Golden’s A shares hit the daily limit down, while its H shares fell by 25%.

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Zijin Mining takes over with RMB 18.258 billion

Cangyuan Golden’s takeover matter has been finalized.

On March 23, Cangyuan Golden disclosed that the company’s controlling shareholder Li Jinyang and his concerted-action partner Zhejiang Hanfeng had reached an agreement on a share transfer and strategic investment cooperation with Zijin Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary Zijin Gold. Zijin Gold will become Cangyuan Golden’s controlling shareholder through a share purchase and a targeted H-share private placement.

According to the agreement, Zijin Gold will acquire 242 million A shares of Cangyuan Golden at a price of RMB 41.36 per share, accounting for 12.73% of the company’s current total share capital, for a transaction amount of approximately RMB 10.006 billion. At the same time, Cangyuan Golden plans to issue 311 million H shares to Zijin Gold through a targeted placement at a price of HK$30.19 per share, raising approximately HK$9.386 billion (about RMB 8.252 billion). The issue price is 83% of the average H-share price over the 60 trading days prior to the announcement. This H-share issuance constitutes a related-party transaction and does not constitute a material asset reorganization.

The total transaction consideration for this deal is approximately RMB 18.258 billion.

Before this transaction, Zijin Mining’s other wholly-owned subsidiaries already held 19 million shares of Cangyuan Golden. After the completion of this transaction, Zijin Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiaries in total will hold 572 million shares of Cangyuan Golden, about 25.85% of the total number of shares after the issuance is completed. Zijin Gold will become Cangyuan Golden’s controlling shareholder, and the original controlling shareholder Li Jinyang and his concerted-action partners will exit control of the company.

The H-share issuance under this transaction has a lock-up period of 18 months. After deducting expenses from the proceeds, the funds will be used for overseas mine construction, exploration and development, equipment upgrades, acquisition of high-quality mining assets, and the company’s day-to-day operations, helping Cangyuan Golden expand its overseas business.

This transaction has been considered and approved by Cangyuan Golden’s board of directors, the audit committee, and independent directors. It still requires approval from the shareholders’ meeting, an anti-monopoly review, and regulatory approvals from authorities such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, so there is some uncertainty regarding implementation.

Cangyuan Golden said that introducing Zijin Mining as the controlling shareholder can deepen strategic synergy between the two parties. With Zijin Mining’s resource and operational advantages, it will enhance the company’s capital strength and core competitiveness, promote long-term sustainable development, and safeguard the interests of minority shareholders. Zijin Mining, for its part, through this strategic investment, will further improve the layout of its gold mining business and strengthen its industry position in the precious metals sector.

Annual profit of RMB 3.082 billion—more than the total of the prior three years

Cangyuan Golden has just released the best performance in its history.

On the evening of March 20, Cangyuan Golden released its 2025 annual report. In the period, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 12.639 billion, up 40.03%; attributable net profit was RMB 3.082 billion, up 74.70%. Both figures reached new highs since the company’s listing in 2004.

According to data from Tonghuashun, from 2022 to 2024, Cangyuan Golden’s attributable net profit was RMB 451 million, RMB 804 million, and RMB 1.764 billion, respectively, with cumulative profits over the three years totaling RMB 3.019 billion. By comparison, in 2025 alone, attributable net profit already exceeded the sum of the previous three years.

By quarter, in 2025 Q1 to Q4, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 2.407 billion, RMB 2.865 billion, RMB 3.372 billion, and RMB 3.994 billion, respectively, with year-on-year growth of 29.85%, 22.31%, 66.39%, and 42.50%; attributable net profit corresponding to these quarters was RMB 483 million, RMB 623 million, RMB 951 million, and RMB 1.024 billion, with year-on-year growth of 141.10%, 22.25%, 140.98%, and 55.40%, respectively.

Cangyuan Golden said that the core drivers of high growth in performance came from strong pull by its gold main business. During the reporting period, the company’s sale of mineral gold achieved revenue of RMB 11.339 billion, up 42.12%, accounting for nearly 90% of total revenue; gross margin was as high as 58.51%, up sharply by 11.55 percentage points year-on-year, becoming the absolute engine of profit growth.

From the production and sales structure, the company produced 14,510.58 kg of mineral gold in full year and sold 14,448.52 kg. With coordinated efforts among mines both domestically and overseas, output was steadily released. Overseas business contributed revenue of RMB 8.988 billion, accounting for 71.20% of total revenue, up 44.08% year-on-year. The growth momentum from its globalized layout continued to be unleashed.

In 2025, Cangyuan Golden’s capital exploration investment was approximately RMB 170 million, with fruitful results in prospecting and reserve increases. Overseas, the Laos Sepon SND project made a major discovery: for the first disclosure, resources were 131.5 million tons, gold-equivalent grade 0.81 g/ton, containing gold-equivalent of 106.9 tons—significantly thickening the value of core assets and extending the mine service life. In Ghana, the Wassa gold mine’s gold resource increased by 41% year-on-year; exploration upgrades and resource conversion showed remarkable results. Domestically, Jilong Mining’s gold resources grew by 22%, Jintai Mining grew by 29%, and deep and peripheral exploration at mines such as Wulong and Huatai has been advancing steadily, with the company’s resource follow-on capacity continuing to strengthen. The company’s gold resources and reserves increased significantly in tandem, providing solid resource support for production volume breakthroughs in 2026–2030.

At the same time, the surge in the gold price boosted Cangyuan Golden’s gross margin to the highest level in nearly 11 years. In 2025, Cangyuan Golden’s gross margin was 52.46%, up 8.62 percentage points from 2024.

Worth noting is that recently, the international gold price has plunged. On March 23, both the gold futures price on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the London spot gold price fell below $4,200 per ounce during intraday trading, erasing all gains since 2026.

In the secondary market, as of the close on March 23, Cangyuan Golden’s A shares hit the daily limit down, and its H shares fell 25%.

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