On July 26, CITIC Guoan Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (CITIC Guoan) announced its strategic investment in key mineral resources during the “Towards a New Era, Win-Win Cooperation” Development Conference (2024). The company plans to focus on the innovative development of advanced materials and new consumer industries by leveraging capital investment and industrial operations. CITIC Guoan will accelerate its layout in strategic minerals such as lithium, potassium, boron, copper, and molybdenum, with a deep involvement in the cooperative development of strategic mineral resources in Tibet and Xinjiang.
CITIC Guoan, relying on CITIC Group’s capital investment platform and its comprehensive advantages in “industrial operations + capital investment,” has actively broadened resource acquisition channels and enhanced development capabilities. In 2023, CITIC Guoan exceeded its comprehensive budget targets, achieving an annual revenue of 111 billion yuan and contributing 5.7 billion yuan in taxes to the state. Despite the lithium carbonate market downturn and copper price fluctuations in the first half of 2024, CITIC Guoan implemented comprehensive measures such as management innovation, process innovation, capacity expansion, and cost reduction, successfully achieving a revenue of 59.6 billion yuan.
Technological innovation is the core driving force of new productivity. CITIC Guoan, fulfilling its central enterprise responsibilities, remains committed to an innovation-driven development strategy. It continues to strengthen technology research and development, build digital management platforms, and enhance core competitiveness. The company currently has 1,980 scientific research personnel, 5 national-level research platforms, 15 provincial and ministerial-level research platforms (laboratories), 16 high-tech enterprises, and 9 specialized and innovative enterprises.
During the conference, the CITIC Salt Industry Technology Innovation Research Institute was officially inaugurated. The institute will focus on the comprehensive utilization of salt lake resources and the sustainable development of salt mines. It will collaborate with top domestic research institutions and universities to build an innovative system that supports the development of new productive forces in the salt industry.
CITIC Guoan’s salt lake lithium extraction technology is globally leading, making significant advancements in the comprehensive development of salt resources. Its subsidiary, Qinghai Lithium, is the first domestic company to industrialize battery-grade lithium carbonate extraction from salt lake brine and leads in core technology and comprehensive strength in salt lake resource development. The company has an annual production capacity of 45,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate, 500,000 tons of high-quality agricultural potassium sulfate, and 10,000 tons of refined boric acid.
At the conference, CITIC Guoan emphasized its development philosophy of “Towards a New Era, Win-Win Cooperation” and signed strategic cooperation agreements with 28 enterprises, universities, and government agencies, including the African Mining Exploration and Development Fund, Tibet Shengyuan Mining Group, China Chemical Geology and Mine Bureau, Qinghai Nuclear Industry Geological Bureau, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, and the Silk Road Planning Research Center.
During the event, CITIC Guoan’s “2024-2026 Development Plan” was released, detailing the company’s strategic direction. Over the past year, CITIC Guoan’s party committee conducted in-depth research and multiple studies, aligning with CITIC Group’s strategic positioning. The plan focuses on promoting high-quality development through dual engines of “industrial operations + capital investment.”
As a first-level subsidiary of CITIC Group, CITIC Guoan prioritizes the full implementation of CITIC Group’s “553” strategy and “135” reform and development plan. The company aims to leverage its capital investment platform to strengthen and optimize Qinghai Lithium and Baiyin Nonferrous Metals, while expanding its investment in strategic resources such as lithium, potassium, boron, copper, and molybdenum, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang.
Over the past year, CITIC Guoan has regained credibility and enhanced its market financing capabilities. To further strengthen cooperation with banks and address financial needs, the conference invited seven banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Postal Savings Bank of China, CITIC Bank, Ping An Bank, Industrial Bank, and CITIC Finance, to sign cooperation agreements, securing over 55 billion yuan in strategic credit support.
[Source – 上海有色网] 中信国安加速布局锂、钾、硼、铜、钼等战略性矿产资源 https://news.smm.cn/news/102888121
