CATL taps Zijin founder as advisor for mining arm

Top electric-vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. has tapped the founder and ex-chairman of Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. as an advisor for its growing mining business, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chen Jinghe, who stepped down from the top job at Zijin late last year, joins CATL with the aim of helping the company gain more control of mineral supply chains, said the people, who asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak publicly. They did not specify Chen’s title, but said he would be working with the company’s mining arm.

A spokesman for CATL confirmed that Chen was serving as advisor, but declined to comment further. A Zijin representative had no immediate comment.

A geologist by training, the 68-year-old Chen led Zijin for more than three decades, taking it from a small gold operation in China to one of the world’s largest miners, with a market capitalization of more than $120 billion, trailing only diversified giants like BHP Group. Much of that expansion was down bets on exploration and acquisitions.

Zijin, state-backed but also entrepreneurial, was one of only a handful of Chinese firms that pressed ahead with investments through lean years for the commodities sector, spending on gold, copper and lithium at home and abroad. Zijin bought a stake in a domestic lithium miner Zangge Mining Co. Ltd. last year, while its prized lithium deposit in Democratic Republic of Congo is set to become one of the world’s largest suppliers.

Battery heavyweight CATL has been expanding its mining footprint for much of the last decade, taking stakes in several overseas operations and expanding its own lithium projects at home — partly as protection against wild swings in raw material prices and geopolitical tensions threatening global supply chains.

CATL’s mining investments include equity stakes in CMOC Group Ltd. which has copper-cobalt projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and its unit Brunp has invested in nickel resources in Indonesia. CATL operates a lepidolite mine in China’s Jiangxi province, though that has been mothballed since August.

At the time of his departure from Zijin, Chen said the company should shift from being “founder-driven” to becoming “institution-driven”. He remains honorary chairman and senior consultant at Zijin, after deciding not to accept nomination as board candidate, citing age and family reasons.

Chen joined the Hong Kong-listed Wanguo Gold Group Ltd. as a chief advisor in February to lead a strategic development committee.

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