Financial Services Association, January 4 (Reporter Liang Xiangcai) Thanks to the resolution of the (Congo Gold) equity issue and subsequent capacity expansion and increased production, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry (603993.SH) achieved varying degrees of growth in production of major mineral products last year. Among them, the increase in copper and cobalt products was particularly evident.

A person related to the Luoyang Molybdenum Industry told the Financial Federation: “In 2023, with the increase in (Congo Gold) TFM and KFM production, the company's copper-cobalt production showed explosive growth. The construction of the TFM mixed mine project was completed last year, and three new production lines are expected to reach production in the first half of this year. TFM already has 5 production lines as a whole. KFM started production in the second quarter of last year. According to monthly production data, KFM produced nearly 15,000 tons of copper in December last year.”

On January 4, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry announced the production status of major products in 2023. Among them, copper metal, cobalt metal, and gold increased significantly. Production for the full year of 2023 was about 419,500 tons, 55,500 tons, and 18,771 ounces respectively, up 142,500 tons, 352,000 tons, and 2,550 ounces respectively from last year, with year-on-year increases of 51%, 174%, and 16%, respectively.

In fact, the market has long anticipated the growth of Luoyang Molybdenum's major mineral products in 2023. Sun Ruiwen, president of Luoyang Molybdenum Industry, revealed a few days ago, “Major key mines have achieved stable and high production, production of major products has reached record highs, and copper and cobalt products are showing explosive growth.”

Zijin Mining, another major domestic non-ferrous metal mining company, also saw a significant increase in production last year. According to the 2023 production data for major products released by the company on January 2, the company's production of major mineral products such as gold, silver, and copper increased to varying degrees. Among them, the mineral copper was 1.01 million tons, an increase of 100,000 tons over last year, an increase of 11% over the previous year.

According to the above data, Luoyang Molybdenum and Zijin Mining will collectively produce more than 1.4 million tons of copper in 2023, adding more than 240,000 tons of production. According to data from the International Copper Research Organization (ICSG), global copper production (metal volume) in 2022 is 21.922 million tons, and global copper production is predicted to increase by 3% in 2023. Based on this statistical caliber, the two Chinese mining companies will account for about 37% of the global increase in new copper production for the full year of last year.

It is worth mentioning that Luoyang Molybdenum's copper and cobalt products previously stranded in Congolese gold have left Hong Kong one after another for sale worldwide. A relevant company source told the reporter that by the end of September last year, the company's goal of completing the shipment of copper and cobalt stranded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has basically been achieved. The company will develop sales strategies based on market conditions.

Looking back briefly, in August 2021, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry announced that it had passed the investment bill for the TFM copper-cobalt mixed mine project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This production expansion plan led to an equity dispute over TFM copper-cobalt ore. After reaching an agreement in April 2022, restrictions on the export of Congolese gold were also lifted in May of that year, and copper and cobalt products previously stranded in the region left Hong Kong for sale one after another.