[ET Net News Agency, 20 July 2018] Moody's Investors Service has assigned a first-time
Baa3 issuer rating to Zijin Mining Group Company Limited (02899).
The rating outlook is stable.
"Zijin's Baa3 issuer rating reflects the company's large scale and leading position as
one of the major producers of gold, copper and zinc in China, its profitable mining
operations with competitive cost advantages, its diversified metal products and geographic
locations, its relationship with the Shanghang County Government and its good access to
funding," said Kaven Tsang, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer, also
Moody's International Lead Market Analyst for Zijin.
Zijin's scale -- as measured by revenues and EBITDA -- is comparable to that of some
Baa3-rated global metal mining peers. The company is ranked among the top 3 metal mining
companies in China in terms of production volumes. Its annual production of gold accounted
for 10% of China's (A1 stable) gold production in 2017, and for 13% and 8% of total copper
and zinc production, respectively.
Zijin has competitive operating costs in its upstream mining operations, enabling it to
maintain profitable operations throughout the cycles. Its upstream mining operations
registered a gross margin of 46% in 2017, which was high relative to its metal mining
peers in China and comparable with its global mining peers. (KL)