Chinese Miners Eye Overseas Deals After Battery Metals Slump

Zijin and CMOC Group set sights on overseas expansion amid a Western pullback, potentially helping China tighten its grip on critical minerals.

Battery metal prices are on the floor, and massive expansions by Chinese miners have been instrumental in driving them lower. Now, with many Western rivals cutting output or shutting down entirely, they want to get even bigger.

Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s most valuable producer, said this week it’s planning acquisitions of “ultra-large mines or mining companies with global influence” to boost business in lithium and other metals.

CMOC Group, which last year overtook Glencore as the world’s top cobalt producer, said the return of “rational” pricing in battery metals opened a window for global acquisitions.

Attention will now turn to what Tianqi Lithium Corp. and Ganfeng Lithium Corp., which report results in coming days, say on the matter.