With all projects meeting their schedules, Zijin reported production for the six-month period of 410,000 tonnes copper and 27 tonnes gold, which are up 70% and 23% year on year, respectively.

Zijin chairman Chen Jinghe said the company intends to continue to add assets to its global mix.

"As the world races towards a ‘net-zero' transition, we have also allocated resources globally to increase our competitiveness in new energy minerals," he said.

Zijin currently owns over 10 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent resources and plans to boost annual production capabilities to over 150,000 tonnes per year.

It noted that completion of its Argentinian 3Q lithium project and commercial production is planned for the end of next year.

"The company has also accelerated the construction and development of the Lakkor Tso project and Xiangyuan project, with the company having finalized a 70% acquisition of the former and is near completion on a 71% acquisition of the latter," it said.

The Lakkor Tso project is in Tibet and is part of a bundle of assets held by DunAn Group, which Zijin is acquiring.

Ziangyuan is in the Hunan Province in China.

Zijin reported an operating income of RMB132.46 billion for the first half, which is up 21% year on year.

Its realized profit before tax was RMB18.57 billion, having risen 62%.

The group's net assets attributable to the owners of the listed company was RMB77.47 billion, having risen 9%.

And, as of the end of June, the group's total assets amounted to RMB271.57 billion, which is an increase of 30% from the start of the year.

Zijin has mining projects throughout China as well as 13 other countries.

The company's share price was RMB9.03 on 16 August, giving it a market capitalisation of RMB234.08 billion.