As a holding subsidiary, Jinchuan Group International Resources Co., Ltd. is the flagship platform for overseas resource development of Jinchuan Group. It is fully committed to building cross-border mining development and operation business, and has large-scale and high-grade copper and cobalt metal resource mines in Africa, with a broad development prospect.
Jinchuan Group International Resources is currently listed on the main board of Hong Kong (stock code: 2362. HK), and was transferred to the list of Hong Kong Connect under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2021. From Mar 13, 2023, it was included in the "list of the first batch of newly transferred Hong Kong Connect under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect", and also among the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Composite Index.
In 2022, Jinchuan Group International Resources sold 64,739 tons of copper with an increase of approximately 14% compared to 2021, and 4,496 tons of cobalt with an increase of approximately 72%. Looking forward to the future, the opportunities brought about by carbon neutrality will be tremendous. As an important conductor of green electricity, the demand for copper will further surge, and the electrification of automobiles will also drive an increase in the demand for cobalt.
Kinsenda Mine processing plant [Photo provided to en.jnmc.com]
Electric vehicles driving demand
According to the company's management, though copper prices are vulnerable to global economic fluctuations, he remains optimistic toward copper and cobalt. Copper inventory levels have remained below 100,000 tons for a long time, and the global copper market is expected to return to a deficit state starting from 2025, according to global research analysts at Bank of America. At the same time, due to the decrease in exploration activities in recent years, it is believed that the increase in copper supply will be slower after 2025.
However, with the advent of the carbon neutrality era, as the most commonly used conductive material, the use of copper in the fields of solar energy, wind energy, energy storage, new energy and power distribution will further boost its demand. It is estimated that the demand for copper in the field of clean energy is expected to increase to 2.7 million tons in 2025. In addition, the copper consumption per electric vehicle is four times that of traditional gasoline vehicles. By 2020, the global demand for copper in the electric vehicle industry (used for charging stations) will increase by 250% compared to 2019.
The widespread popularity of electric vehicles will also significantly boost demand for cobalt. Cobalt plays an irreplaceable role in the safety and stability of batteries. It is predicted that cobalt demand will maintain a compound annual growth rate of 7% by 2030, with power lithium batteries expected to maintain a growth rate of 38% from 2021 to 2025.
The company's management highlighted that by 2025, cobalt demand will reach the level of 230,400 tons, with core growth points mainly concentrated in the power battery field of new energy vehicles and the 3C field of non-power batteries. In addition, high-temperature alloys and hard alloys will also grow synergistically.
