At the end of the year, the mining industry is witnessing multiple key dynamics. On one hand, the state has introduced heavyweight policies, delineating a clear path for the intelligent construction of mines and activating a 100-billion-yuan market space; on the other hand, benefiting from the market dividend of continuously rising gold prices, domestic mining enterprises have set off an upsurge of global resource layout with frequent mergers and acquisitions; at the same time, the intensity of safety supervision has been continuously increased, and typical cases have warned the industry to consolidate the bottom line of safety. The interweaving of multiple signals outlines a distinct picture of the transformation, upgrading and high-quality development of the current mining industry.
Major Policy Launch: Intelligent Construction Gets “Top-Level Design”, 100-Billion-Yuan Track Accelerates Takeoff
The most concerned issue in the industry recently is the official issuance of the “Guidelines for the Intelligent Construction of Metal and Non-Metal Mines (2025 Edition)” by the State Administration of Mine Safety Supervision. This policy document, regarded as a “top-level design” by the industry, fills the planning gap in the field of intelligent construction of metal and non-metal mines and points out the direction for industrial upgrading.
Centering on the three core goals of “reducing personnel, enhancing safety and improving efficiency”, the Guidelines constructs an intelligent architecture covering ten major business systems such as information infrastructure, geological support, mining operations, safety monitoring and comprehensive management and control platform for the two core scenarios of open-pit mines and underground mines. Different from previous policies, this document adopts functional and effective expressions, encouraging mining enterprises to explore practical construction models through “one mine, one policy” and avoiding rigid promotion of “one size fits all”.
The implementation of the policy will directly activate a 100-billion-yuan market. Data shows that the scale of China’s smart mine market is growing at an average annual rate of over 10%, expected to reach 67 billion yuan in 2025 and even exceed 120 billion yuan in 2035. Among them, four major sectors will directly benefit from the policy dividend and become core tracks: intelligent mining equipment (unmanned mining trucks, underground inspection robots, etc.), safety monitoring and sensors, 5G + industrial internet, and mining information software. For example, unmanned mining trucks in open-pit mines and remote-controlled underground equipment have entered the stage of large-scale application, and the order growth expectation of relevant equipment enterprises is strong.
Driven by Market Dividends: Domestic Mining Enterprises Deploy “Overseas + Domestic Demand” Dual Lines, Gold Resources Become Core Targets
With the bull market of international gold prices hitting new highs repeatedly in 2025, domestic mining enterprises, relying on strong cash flow, have set off an intensive wave of resource mergers and acquisitions, including large-scale overseas expansion and domestic resource integration to consolidate the basic market, comprehensively enhancing resource control and industrial chain competitiveness.
In terms of overseas layout, Zijin Mining can be called the “pacesetter”. In April this year, it acquired the Akyem gold mine in Ghana for 1 billion US dollars, obtaining 54.4 tons of gold resources; in October, it completed the delivery of the Raygorodok gold mine in Kazakhstan, increasing the number of producing gold mine clusters in Central Asia to 9, further approaching the strategic goal of “gold output exceeding 100 tons by 2028”. China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. quickly entered the gold track through “portfolio acquisition”, acquiring the gold mine in Ecuador in June to obtain 638 tons of gold resources, and acquiring 4 producing gold mines in Brazil for 1.015 billion US dollars in December. It is expected that the annual production capacity will exceed 20 tons, realizing a leap from “zero gold production” to an important player in the industry. In addition, Jiangxi Copper Corporation, Lingbao Gold, Shengtun Mining and other enterprises have also made frequent moves, either acquiring comprehensive copper-gold mine resources, locking in overseas mature production capacity, or laying out exploration stage projects, showing a differentiated global resource layout strategy.
In the domestic market, leading enterprises are also taking constant actions. China National Gold Group plans to inject 4 affiliated enterprises. After completion, the proven gold resources are expected to exceed 1,000 tons, and the resource self-sufficiency rate will be increased to more than 90%; Chifeng Gold has obtained a new mining license through exploration conversion to mining, enhancing production capacity potential; Shengya Resources has acquired 60% equity of Yichun Jinshi Mining for 500 million yuan, locking in ultra-large-scale copper metal resources. The industry generally believes that under the expectation of long-term bullish gold prices, these pre-deployed resources and production capacity will become the core support for the future performance growth of enterprises.
Strengthened Safety Supervision: Typical Cases Sound the Alarm, Consolidating Enterprises’ Main Responsibility for Safety
While the industry is developing rapidly, the bottom line of safety is continuously consolidated. Recently, the State Administration of Mine Safety Supervision announced the fourth batch of typical law enforcement cases of non-coal mines in 2025. The 5 cases cover multiple scenarios such as lead-zinc mines, gold mines, fluorite mines, open-pit bauxite mines and tailings ponds, directly pointing out the prominent problems in enterprise safety management.
From the perspective of the cases, the common problems are concentrated in the lack of safety equipment management, out-of-control qualification review of outsourced projects, inadequate control of major risks, use of explicitly prohibited technologies, and false safety evaluation reports. For example, the main inclined shaft winch of a lead-zinc mine in Inner Mongolia lacked overwinding protection, an open-pit bauxite mine in Shanxi used excavation mining technology, and the safety evaluation report of a tailings pond in Guangxi was false. The relevant enterprises and evaluation institutions have been ordered to make corrections within a time limit, imposed economic penalties or even suspended business for rectification.
The announcement of these typical cases aims to play a warning role of “promoting reform and governance through cases” and urge mining enterprises to implement the main responsibility for production safety. This also echoes the core goal of “enhancing safety” in intelligent construction, meaning that the future development of the industry will always take safety as the premise, and the cost of violations will continue to rise.
Industry Outlook: Intelligence and Resource Integration Become Core Main Lines
Comprehensively looking at the recent dynamics, policy-driven intelligent upgrading and market dividend-driven resource integration will become the two core main lines of the future development of the mining industry. Intelligent construction is not only a means to improve efficiency, but also a key path to ensure safety, which is expected to promote the fundamental transformation of the industry from “traditional labor-intensive” to “intelligent technology-intensive”; the deepening of global resource layout will enhance the international competitiveness of domestic mining enterprises and ensure the safety of the industrial chain and supply chain.
For industry participants, seizing the segmented opportunities in the intelligent track, accurately deploying high-potential resource projects, and at the same time adhering to the bottom line of safety will be the key to surviving the cycle and achieving sustainable development. What do you think about the landing application of mine intelligence or the resource layout of mining enterprises? Welcome to leave a comment and discuss.
