Top 10 global miners: Zijin’s expansion pays off 

Zijin Mining’s (SSE: 601899; SEHK: 2899) expansion strategy paid dividends as the Chinese miner topped global peers located outside North America and Australia for market capitalization.

Attributable net income for 2025 jumped 62% to a record $7.4 billion (C$10.4 billion), supported by higher copper and gold prices as well as increased output. Revenue rose 15% to $49.7 billion. 

Acquisitions drove a 23% surge in 2025 output as Zijin churned out 90 tonnes of mined gold. Two key assets fueled the increase: Ghana’s Akyem gold mine, which Zijin bought from Newmont in April for $1 billion, and Kazakhstan’s Raygodorok operation, acquired in October. 

Zijin continued investing in its copper business. It advanced plans for a $1.5-billion expansion at Peru’s La Arena copper-gold operation that aims to extend mine life and boost copper production. Zijin bought La Arena from Pan American Silver (TSX, Nasdaq: PAAS) in 2024.

M&A remains a major focus. In January, Zijin unveiled a friendly C$5.5-billion deal to acquire Canadian producer Allied Gold (TSX, NYSE: AAUC). The transaction, which would have added Mali’s Sadiola mine along with assets in Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia, collapsed in late July. Zijin nevertheless agreed to buy 12.8 million newly issued Allied shares for about $295 million — a transaction that will leave it with a 9.2% stake in the company.

In May, its Zijin Gold unit struck a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for 18.3 billion yuan ($2.64 billion) and strengthen its position as China’s largest gold producer.

Peso winner

Grupo México (BMV: GMEXICOB; US-OTC: GMBXF) rode strong copper prices, disciplined cost management and continued investment across its mining, transportation and infrastructure businesses to become the country’s most valuable company by market value. Its stock rose 72% in peso terms.

Sales rose 12% to a record $18.2 billion while net profit climbed 18% to $4.6 billion.  

Improved operational performance across its mining businesses helped Glencore (LSE: GLEN; US-OTC: GLCNF) swing to a profit of $363 million in 2025 from a year-earlier loss of $1.6 billion. 

Discussions with Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO) over a combination valued at roughly $260 billion ended in February after the companies failed to agree on valuation and leadership terms.

Operationally, Glencore achieved production guidance for key commodities for the second straight year. Copper output dropped 11% in 2025 to 851,600 tonnes because of lower grades and recoveries, but second-half production rebounded sharply as performance improved at several mines.

2035 goal 

Copper has become the centrepiece of Glencore’s strategy amid rising demand from electrification and energy infrastructure. In December, executives outlined a pathway to become one of the world’s largest producers of the red metal, targeting annual production of about 1.6 million tonnes by 2035.

Brazil’s Vale (NYSE: VALE) is another miner focused on growing its copper footprint. It advanced studies and investments at its copper assets last year, including operations in Brazil and Canada, while maintaining efforts to improve performance at its nickel business amid challenging market conditions.

Its base metals unit agreed in December with Glencore to assess a brownfield copper development in the Sudbury Basin.

Attributable net income dropped 62% last year to $2.4 billion as Vale booked a $3.5-billion impairment charge on its Canadian nickel assets due to a downward revision in long-term price assumptions.

Ma’aden, as Saudi Arabian Mining is known, reported record results on the back of rising phosphate and aluminum output. Net attributable profit more than doubled to about $2 billion while revenue rose 19% to $10.3 billion.

Critical minerals

Key to Ma’aden’s strategy is a continued expansion beyond the company’s traditional phosphate and aluminum businesses. The company is now looking to increase gold output, develop copper and explore opportunities in rare earth elements and critical minerals.

Ma’aden also advanced exploration partnerships. In December, it formed a joint venture with Midana Exploration, a company backed by Australian mining entrepreneur Gina Rinehart, to explore large areas of the Arabian Shield for gold. 

Anglo American’s (LSE: AAL; US-OTC: NGLOY) attributable loss widened to $3.74 billion as the miner wrote down the value of its De Beers diamond unit by $2.3 billion — its third such writedown in as many years. 

Its signature move was the signing in September of a proposed $53-billion merger with Canada’s Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK) to create a major global copper producer. Shareholders of both companies have since approved the combination, and Anglo has been working on securing regulatory approvals. 

London-based Anglo also continued divesting non-core assets under a 2024 strategy that includes the separation of De Beers and the sale of steelmaking coal and nickel operations.

Higher gold prices, cost control and asset sales helped AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) strengthen its financial position. Attributable income more than doubled to $2.6 billion while free cash flow tripled to a record $2.9 billion as gold production rose about 16% year-over-year to more than 3 million ounces. 

Brazil sale

AngloGold continued reshaping its asset portfolio by completing the sale of its Serra Grande mine in Brazil while advancing a pipeline of organic growth projects in Nevada, Ghana, Tanzania and Egypt. Capital spending remained focused on extending mine lives and developing higher-return projects intended to support long-term production.

Chile’s Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO; US-OTC: ANFGF) is another miner looking to expand copper output. Group capital spending jumped more than 50% to $3.7 billion in 2025, reflecting peak investment activity at major projects.

At Los Pelambres, one of the world’s biggest copper mines, investments include an expanded desalination plant and a new concentrate pipeline. At the Centinela open-pit mine, construction of a second concentrator is expected in 2027 to support Antofagasta’s medium-term goal of lifting production by 30%.