Chinese Mining Companies Tap Bond Markets for $4.8 Billion as Metal Prices Boom

By Jiahui Huang

Two major Chinese mining companies are raising a combined $4.8 billion via bond issues to expand their businesses as prices of metals like copper and gold boom.

CMOC, a major producer of copper and cobalt, is issuing $1.2 billion worth of convertible bonds at a premium, it said in a filing on Tuesday.

The funds will be used to grow overseas mining and processing assets, the state-backed company said in a filing.

A day earlier, Jiangxi Copper, another state-backed mining giant, announced plans to raise $3.59 billion in medium and short-term notes. Among the listed use of proceeds were project-related acquisitions, which could bulk up capacity as copper prices rally.

Prices of copper, a key material in everything from electronics to renewables, have hit multiple records over the past few months on the London Metal Exchange, at one point crossing the key $13,000/ton threshold.

That momentum looks set to persist in the short term at least, analysts say.

Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent commentary that prices will likely stay high throughout the first quarter of the year, noting persistent uncertainty around U.S. tariffs on refined copper.

Earlier on Tuesday, global mining titan BHP Group upgraded its annual copper-production guidance, and said prices are being driven by healthy demand.

Similar moves in precious metals give mining companies an added reason to raise funds to ramp up capacity, as gold and silver keep printing new record highs.

In December last year, Jiangxi Copper said it will acquire Australian gold and copper miner SolGold for around $1.17 billion. Late last year, CMOC announced the purchase of significant gold assets in Brazil from Canada's Equinox Gold in a deal worth over $1 billion.

Shares in Jiangxi Copper were last down 1.2% in Hong Kong, while CMOC was off by 2.2%.

The three-month LME copper contract was last down 0.3% at $12,921.00 a ton.

Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2026 00:39 ET (05:39 GMT)