Zijin Mining Pours $269 Million More Into Lithium Assets

What’s new: Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. (601899.SH) plans to acquire 71% of lithium mine owner Hunan Houdao Ming Co. Ltd. for 1.8 billion yuan ($269 million), the copper and gold mining giant said Wednesday.

Skyrocketing lithium prices and declining copper prices are pushing Zijin into the lithium business. Houdao Ming owns the Xiangyuan lithium mine, which has about 2.16 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. That makes it the 13th-largest hard rock lithium mine in the world and the third-largest in China.