Three Months After Zijin Takeover, Zangge Mining Launches an Efficiency Revolution

This article is sourced from 21st Century Business Herald, August 5. The content does not constitute investment advice. All disclosed information is subject to the company’s official announcements. Investors act at their own risk.

A mining merger valued at RMB 13.7 billion has stirred waves of transformation in Qinghai Chaerhan Salt Lake.

In mid-July, Zangge Mining, for the first time as a Zijin Mining-controlled enterprise, co-hosted the 2025 World Potash & Potassium Fertilizer Conference and Golmud Salt Lake Forum. Chairman Wu Jianhui made a public appearance and delivered the keynote speech. Wu joined Zijin Mining in 1997 and now serves as Executive Director, Vice President, and Chief Engineer of Zijin Mining, as well as Chairman of Tibet Julong Copper Co., Ltd. Just three months prior, Zijin Mining acquired a controlling stake in Zangge Mining through its wholly-owned subsidiary. This company, which holds 724.35 km² of mining rights in Chaerhan Salt Lake and possesses rich resources in Tibet and Laos, has officially become part of Zijin’s strategic portfolio.

Management Philosophy in Daily Operations

Only three months after the acquisition, Zijin Mining has rapidly pushed forward reforms at Zangge Mining, and the synergy between the two parties has quickly entered a substantive stage. In early July, Zijin Mining Chairman Chen Jinghe conducted in-depth field visits to Xining, Golmud, and other regions of Tibet to inspect Zangge Potash and Zangge Lithium operations. During the inspection, Chen emphasized: “We should leverage this restructuring opportunity to upgrade organizational management, but avoid copying Zijin’s model. Zangge developed from a private enterprise and has its own advantages and characteristics. We need to innovate and explore a development model suitable for itself.” This reflects Zijin’s empowerment philosophy—introducing advanced management systems while preserving the company’s original innovative vitality.

At the Chaerhan Salt Lake potash production base, around 11 a.m., the aroma of braised meat wafted from the canteen. After the Zijin acquisition, the first step was to boost employee morale and improve welfare. Only by ensuring employees’ well-being can they have motivation and drive. Currently, Zangge Potash has raised employee meal standards and plans further increases when appropriate. Meanwhile, dormitories have been upgraded, and shuttle buses provide daily commutes to Golmud city. This comprehensive improvement of living conditions allows frontline staff to feel the real benefits of Zijin’s empowerment. Using employees’ practical concerns as a breakthrough point achieves “small investment, big recognition,” ultimately improving production efficiency.

On corporate governance, following the change in control, Zangge Mining quickly launched reforms. The Supervisory Board was abolished, and supervisory functions were merged into the Board’s Audit and Supervisory Committee. Non-independent directors with supervisory responsibility serve as chairperson, and independent directors with finance backgrounds serve as co-chairpersons. Leveraging Zijin’s experience, a “four-in-one” supervisory system covering inspection, audit, disciplinary committee, and internal control was established. The board authorized the Executive & Investment Committee and the President at different levels, formulated authority lists for key business matters, clarified approval processes, and optimized headquarter functions, forming a clear, standardized, and efficient governance framework.

“Corporate governance is more standardized and emphasizes cost reduction and efficiency enhancement,” said Li Guangjun, Deputy Director of Zangge Potash Production, reflecting that the company has entered a comprehensive efficiency revolution. Although busier than before, employees feel more confident and capable. Li has worked at Chaerhan Salt Lake for nearly 30 years, witnessing the transformation from disorderly to organized development. Initially, the eastern rail area of the salt lake had small, disorderly workshops. After integrating over ten small potash plants and independently developing solid-to-liquid technology, the area’s salt lake development reached a qualitative leap, with Zangge Potash becoming China’s second-largest potash producer.

Li explained that under Zijin’s control, the company emphasizes cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and talent development. Monthly cost analyses are now routine. In potash production, early dissolution of sylvinite is critical; solubility is affected by temperature, solvents, and other factors—like making bread, improper ratios can cause resource waste. Previously, slurry concentration was manually measured with high error. To improve quality and efficiency, Zangge Potash introduced intelligent devices and DCS systems on production lines for real-time data collection, display, and analysis. After activating automated inspection, production processes can be precisely controlled. Combining experience with technology represents the future of salt lake development.

Smart Upgrades Safeguarding Salt Lake Lifelines

From the embankments of Chaerhan Salt Lake, hard sylvinite clusters stand in the lake. These salt lakes, formed tens of thousands of years ago, provide humans only a little over a century for extraction. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau salt lakes are natural wonders accumulated over several geological epochs. From the Miocene to mid-Holocene, continuous crustal movement and extreme arid climate caused water evaporation and salt accumulation, with over ten million years of migration and deposition producing mineral-rich lakes. This natural gift nourishes agriculture and industry.

For years, potash from Chaerhan Salt Lake has supported China’s food security. When lithium carbonate was scarce, Zangge Mining used old brine from potash production and independently developed a “one-step process for producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from ultra-low concentration lithium brine,” successfully extracting high-quality lithium carbonate from extremely low-concentration brine, supplementing market supply and supporting the country’s new energy industry and energy security.

Mining development links economy, livelihoods, and ecological protection, requiring delicate balance. With rich salt lake resources, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is building a world-class salt lake industry base, but the fragile environment makes ecological protection a top priority.

Engineer Lu of Zangge Lithium proudly stated that the company leads the industry in standardization, digitalization, and intelligence of lithium extraction, creating highly replicable, efficient, and impactful projects. Zangge Lithium overcame the challenge of extracting lithium from ultra-low grade, high impurity brine and achieved the first one-step industrial production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. The one-step process, using mobile continuous bed technology, realizes fully digital and intelligent industrial control, setting a benchmark for low-grade brine lithium extraction in Qinghai and worldwide.

Building a world-class salt lake industry base requires national-level innovation platforms and green, intelligent lakes. Since last year, Zangge Lithium has upgraded automation across 20 series in five adsorption workshop zones, optimized operating interfaces, and improved automated production. In electrodialysis system upgrades, the nanofiltration workshop innovated process design and equipment, added ORP monitoring, and upgraded membranes, solving oxidative corrosion issues in lithium chloride systems and reducing equipment corrosion risk. Current third-generation adsorption workshop brine recovery exceeds 80%, membrane workshop recovery exceeds 98%, and product workshop theoretical recovery exceeds 99%.

For Zangge Mining, development and protection are not mutually exclusive. Respect for resources is evident in details: major ecological restoration investments, electric forklifts replacing fuel ones, treated brine recycling, 100% water reuse, and continuously reduced freshwater consumption. In the Mamiko Salt Lake development plan, 17,000 tons of boron by-products are allocated, focusing on boron recovery. The Laos potash project emphasizes ecological study to bring Chinese green technology abroad.

Experts note that technological breakthroughs in co-product utilization are a future direction. Overseas, Israeli companies leverage innovation for comprehensive utilization of potassium, magnesium, bromine, sodium, and solar energy. The Qaidam Basin has over 40 salt lake products, including NaCl, KCl, K₂SO₄, boric acid, lithium carbonate, bromine products, with Chinese enterprises having infinite opportunities in multi-resource synergy.

Chaerhan and Mamiko Dual Bases Tell a New Potash-Lithium Story

Zangge Mining’s future blueprint is becoming clearer. During inspections, Chen Jinghe outlined four reform directions: management innovation with a “concise, standardized, efficient” system; strengthening main business advantages, addressing Laos potash technical bottlenecks, enhancing Tibet lithium synergy, accelerating Mamiko project construction, and exploring magnesium and co-product utilization breakthroughs; advancing digital and refined management, making all operations transparent on information platforms; leveraging market advantages to attract talent and develop existing workforce.

Currently, the Laos project focuses on water management and backfilling technology, strengthening government communication to expedite commissioning. In July, Laos initiated research on underground strip-pillar mining with cemented backfill, using tail brine and evaporated magnesium slurry mixed with cement powder for underground void filling. This ensures mining-balance, improves resource utilization, and reduces ecological impact. Hydrogeological surveys and drilling support water control design.

On July 15, Zangge Mining obtained the mining license for lithium-boron at Mamiko Salt Lake. Technical backbones relocated from Chaerhan to Tibet. Mamiko Salt Lake in Gêrzê County, Ali Prefecture, has proven lithium chloride reserves of ~2.5011 million tons (~2.1774 million tons lithium carbonate equivalent). High surface brine allows direct production, reducing extraction and enrichment costs. Phase I (50,000 t/year lithium carbonate) starts in Q3, with equipment procurement and construction teams mobilized, expected completion in 9–12 months. Phase II (50,000–80,000 t/year) will follow after power supply verification.

After years of development, Zangge Mining has dual domestic core drivers (Chaerhan and Mamiko Salt Lakes), with overseas Laos potash contributing long-term growth. Mamiko’s long-term capacity plan is 100,000 tons. Through indirect holding of 21.09% in Guoneng Mining via the Tibet-Qinghai Fund, which owns Longmucuo and Jiezhe Chaka salt lakes with 3.9 million tons lithium carbonate and 28 million tons potassium chloride, China’s reserves rank among the top globally.

At the Potash & Potassium Fertilizer Conference, Wu Jianhui stated that Zangge Mining will leverage Zijin’s controlling advantages, focusing on stable potash production and lithium breakthroughs, pursuing technological innovation, green development, and empowerment synergy to explore integrated resource utilization, build a globally competitive mining group, and contribute to global food, energy security, and ecological sustainability.

What does Zijin’s control bring Zangge? The answer is clear: not only state-backed management and technical empowerment but also a key to unlock multiple values of mineral resources through intrinsic motivation.

In its interim report, Zangge Mining stated that after the change in controlling shareholder, it realized the dual advantage of “state-owned standard + private vitality.” Zijin Mining, as a world-leading comprehensive mineral developer, enhances asset scale, resource reserves, management efficiency, global layout, and standardized governance. Relying on Zijin, Zangge will further improve mining and resource utilization, unlock potential in potassium and lithium, transform resource advantages into economic benefits, and accelerate the goal of becoming a world-class mining group.

Under the sun, Chaerhan Salt Lake brine glitters like scattered gold. The subtle reforms hidden in details are giving new life to this ancient salt lake.

Source: 21st Century Business Herald