Mining Intelligence and News
China

Caijiaying Mine

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Summary

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Zinc
  • Lead
  • Silver
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Longhole open stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Caijiaying Mine is a major operating zinc, gold, silver, and lead mine with a processing plant, representing one of the most significant capital developments in global underground zinc production.

The mine extracts ore from Zone III, with ongoing development of Zone II, expected to begin production in late 2025. Additional zones, V and VIII, remain in the exploration phase.

Increased production rates have propelled the Caijiaying Mine into the top six zinc concentrate producers in China, providing high-quality concentrate that competes with imported products.

In 2024, development continued into Zone II, with completion expected in 2025, trial mining starting that year, and full production approval anticipated in early 2026, enabling production to ramp up to 1.7 mtpa. Efforts are underway to increase the mill’s capacity to 1.7 mtpa, with plans to align production from Zones II and III with the higher throughput, pending necessary permits.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Zhangjiakou Yuanrun Enterprise Management Consulting Service 11.2 % Indirect
Griffin Mining Ltd. 88.8 % Indirect
The major asset of Griffin Mining Limited is an 88.8% interest in Hebei Hua Ao Mining Industry Company Limited through its wholly-owned Hong Kong subsidiary, China Zinc Limited. Griffin now holds an 88.8% equity interest in Hebei Hua Ao and Yuanrun retains an 11.2% residual interest.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Porphyry
  • Replacement
  • Skarn

Summary:

A number of zones of mineralisation set within the same ore body were identified within the tenements held by Hebei Hua Ao at the Caijiaying Mine including Zone III, which is currently being mined, and Zone II, being developed for production in late 2025. Together with Zones V and VIII, all of these mineralised zones are recognised as being one ore body.

The Caijiaying Mine is located at the northern edge of the North China Craton, within the highly mineralized Yanshan Metallogenic Belt in Hebei Province, PRC. This east-west trending belt, spanning hundreds of kilometres, is renowned for hosting a diverse array of large-scale mineral deposits, cementing the Yanshan region as one of northern China’s most economically significant areas. The local geology at Caijiaying features early Proterozoic granulite and gneiss interspersed with marble lenses, which are unconformably overlain by the Late Jurassic Baiqi and Zhangjiakou Formations. The geological sequence is further complicated by porphyry sills and dykes that intrude along fault zones. Mineralization is interpreted to be associated with a Jurassic igneous event that extensively altered the ancient 2.3-billion-year-old metamorphic basement rocks.

The mine’s base metal and gold mineralization align with a distal skarn replacement system, characterized by amphibolite-grade metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks intruded by Jurassic porphyries. Sulphide lenses dominated by coarse sphalerite, alongside pyrite and galena, selectively replace calc-silicate and iron-rich amphibolite units within folded basement rocks.

Zone III exhibits Zn-Au-Pb-Ag mineralization within structurally deformed meta-volcanic units. Adjacent to the north-south Grasshopper Fault, the western sector features upright isoclinal folds adjacent the fault that transition eastward into inclined open folds, creating zones of structural complexity. Orebody thickness varies dramatically, reaching up to 20 metres at fold closures but narrowing to less than 2 metres along fold limbs at depth and toward the east. Steep to moderate westward dips and a shallow 20 degree northward plunge define the mineralization’s orientation, reflecting the dynamic tectonic history of the area.

Zone II, a continuation south of Zone III, shares a comparable geological sequence but displays heightened structural complexity and divergent metal ratios. Ongoing exploration here leverages advanced underground diamond drilling, core orientation tools, and 48-element geochemical analysis to refine geological models and identify mineralization vectors. Rapid digital implicit modelling techniques enhance targeting efficiency, though the orebody’s geometry narrows compared to Zone III, with possibly less pronounced fold hinges.

Zone II
The Mineral Resource has a strike length of 1,300 m, a width of 800 m and extends from 10 m below surface to 700 m below surface.

Zone III
The Mineral Resource has a strike length of 1,200 m, a width of 650 m and extends from 30 m below surface to 700 m below surface.

Zone V
The Mineral Resource has a strike length of 630 m, a width of 800 m and extends to 700 m below surface.

Zone VIII
The Mineral Resource has a strike length of 530 m, a width of 450 m and extends from 220 m below surface to 780 m below surface.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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AV - Autonomous

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Commodity Production

The results for 2022 were severely impacted by various suspensions in operations for nearly five months of the year.

The results for 2024 were severely impacted by the suspension in operations during the Q4 2024 following the fatality of an employee of a contractor underground in the mine.
CommodityUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Zinc t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe37,41337,11243,40331,94838,560
Lead t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,2191,0301,4211,4391,785
Silver oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe344,228280,712394,117310,610343,575
Gold oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe17,76816,23020,48912,65410,363
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate.

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe862,029 t872,069 t920,168 t817,506 t571,815 t
Waste  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe930,613 t930,472 t968,080 t874,983 t839,713 t

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Operating Costs

Currency202420232022
UG mining costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Mine Financials

Units20242023202220212020201920182017
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 82.3   99.1   126.7  
Operating Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 14.2   35.6   63.8  
Gross profit M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 33.7   53.3   82.3  
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 11.7   34.8   60.9  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 6.1   25.5   43.3  
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Operating Cash Flow M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 21.6   20.4   77.4  

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 8, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 17, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2024
...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required 2020

Aerial view:

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