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China’s CMOC Group, a leading producer of copper and molybdenum and the world’s largest cobalt producer, is charting an ambitious growth path despite geopolitical headwinds and shifting market dynamics. Speaking at the FT Metals and Mining Summit on Friday October 10, Liu Jianfeng, chairman and chief investment officer of CMOC, outlined how the company is managing policy changes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pursuing global expansion and assessing China’s economic outlook.
Discussing DRC, home to CMOC’s massive Tenke Fungurume (TFM) mine, Liu downplayed the financial impact of the DRC government’s recent cobalt export quota.
“Cobalt is a by product of our copper production — we can’t really separate the two,” he explained. “Financially, we’re fine because copper prices are much stronger. Every country has the right to regulate its natural resources and we’ll follow local rules.”
He added that any temporary surplus cobalt could simply be stockpiled until market conditions improve.Meanwhile, geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing has raised questions about whether Chinese miners face barriers in overseas investment.
“Every company has to adapt to new realities,” Liu said. “We already have a large-scale copper and cobalt operation in the DRC. If we can secure a similar-sized project elsewhere, we could double production and become one of the top three global copper producers.”
He acknowledged that some regions may be more complex to access, but stressed that CMOC remains committed to expanding where opportunities make commercial sense.
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CMOC’s near-term focus remains on copper and gold, two metals the company views as offering both growth potential and long-term stability.
“Copper remains our core metal,” Liu said. “At the same time, gold presents room for expansion — it’s a more fragmented market and that gives us opportunities to grow.”
While lithium has attracted strong investor interest, CMOC has deliberately stayed on the sidelines.
“We’ve studied a lot of lithium assets,” Liu said. “But for us, mining is about supply. If supply is already abundant, prices can be driven up by capital rather than fundamentals. We prefer to invest where we can bring real value through production and long-term development.”
When asked about Western governments’ push to secure critical minerals, Liu said it was a natural evolution of global competition.
“Mining companies have to follow the policies of different countries,” Liu said. “These new regulations may push up prices across the sector — which benefits all producers.”
He argued that critical minerals should be priced to reflect their environmental and developmental value.
“If these resources are truly critical, their prices should compensate for environmental protection and local economic contributions,” he added.
Drawing on his background in oil and gas, Liu said technological progress often overcomes geopolitical constraints.
“In offshore oil, China went from shallow-water to deep-water capability in just a decade,” Liu said. “The same will happen in minerals — regulation may slow things down, but it won’t stop innovation.”
One move that sets CMOC apart from other Chinese miners is its 2019 acquisition of IXM, a trading firm that gave it a global marketing and logistics platform.
“We take trading very seriously,” Liu said. “If you want to understand the global mining and commodities markets, you need a presence on the ground — in London, in the US, in Australia. IXM gives us that.”
He compared CMOC’s strategy to the “smiling curve” concept familiar in manufacturing — strengthening both the production and market ends of the value chain.
“Chinese companies have been strong in operations but not as strong in R&D or marketing,” he said. “We’re taking the opposite approach — giving IXM full autonomy and integrating it into our long-term strategy. That makes CMOC unique among mining companies.”
Liu addressed a common question from Western observers — how closely CMOC’s strategy aligns with Beijing’s geopolitical agenda.
“We’re one of the largest listed mining companies in China by market capitalization,” he said. “Of course, we leverage China’s capital markets, engineering capabilities, and operational strengths. But our strategy is commercial — we define our own direction.”
He emphasized that CMOC’s global growth stems from corporate execution rather than state direction.
“Our success comes from our ownership structure, our management, and our execution,” he said. “We follow market logic. That’s what has allowed us to grow from a small company into a global player.”
Closing the session, Liu shared his outlook on China’s economic trajectory. While GDP growth of 5–6% is expected, he argued that such figures don’t capture the full scale of Chinese business activity overseas.
“Many companies like CMOC may not show up in China’s GDP, but we’re still Chinese,” he said. “About 95% of our revenue, profit, and employment are linked to China, even though our assets are global.”
He sees continued robust demand for metals such as copper and cobalt.
“Demand remains very strong,” he said. “We already have firm orders for the next three quarters — across copper, cobalt, molybdenum, and other key products.”
Despite challenges ranging from export restrictions to geopolitical tensions, CMOC’s message was clear: it aims to expand production, strengthen its global market presence, and remain adaptable in a shifting commodities landscape.
“We follow the market,” Liu concluded. “That’s what will continue to drive our growth.”
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