By the end of Q4 2025, the global mining sector witnessed a market value surge. According to MINING.COM data, the combined market cap of the world's top 50 most valuable mining companies reached $2.17 trillion, surging by $892 billion within the year—a staggering 70% increase. This milestone signifies that after three years of stagnation, the mining industry's market valuation has finally caught up with other sectors, reaffirming its critical importance as the cornerstone of the global industrial economy.

01 Global Mining Landscape Undergoes Dramatic Shift

2025 witnessed an unprecedented explosion in global mining market capitalization. The combined market cap of the top 50 mining companies soared from $1.28 trillion to $2.17 trillion, with an annual increase nearing $900 billion. This remarkable growth underscores the renewed centrality of mineral resources in the global economy.

Major powers' resource competition reshaped the mining landscape. Canada led globally with 14 listed companies accounting for 25% of total market value; Australia ranked second with a 19% share; China placed third with 10 listed companies representing 17.6% of the market value.

The number of global mining companies with market capitalizations exceeding $100 billion rose from two to five. BHP retained its top position with a market cap of $153.3 billion, followed by Rio Tinto ($138.3 billion) and China's Zijin Mining ($124 billion). Southern Copper ($119.2 billion) and Newmont ($111 billion) also joined the $100-billion club.

02 China's Mining Giants Rise Globally

China's mining sector delivered a stellar performance in 2025, with ten companies making the global top 50 list. Both the number of listed firms and their share of total market capitalization placed China among the world leaders. This achievement reflects China's growing influence in the global mining industry. The listed Chinese companies demonstrate a distinct pattern of diversified operations.

Zijin Mining, China's top-ranked company, ranked third globally with a market value of $124 billion, surging 127.8% in 2025. Founded in Shanghang, Fujian, this mining giant has established over 30 mining bases across 18 countries through its consistent “counter-cyclical M&A” strategy. Zijin Mining's core operations focus on the exploration and development of metal mineral resources including gold, copper, zinc, and lithium, while expanding into clean energy-related businesses.

Luoyang Molybdenum emerged as the fastest-growing company among the global top 50, achieving a remarkable 210% increase in market value to $58.7 billion and climbing to 11th place. Its strategic focus on molybdenum, copper, cobalt, and other critical metals aligns perfectly with the explosive growth of the new energy sector. In 2025, the company invested over CNY10 billion to acquire gold mining assets in Ecuador and Brazil, with annual gold production expected to increase significantly upon completion.

Shaanxi Coal Industry became the only Chinese company on the list with negative market value growth (-3.4%), reflecting the coal industry's widespread challenges amid the energy transition. However, through intelligent upgrades and efficiency improvements, the company achieved record-high performance metrics in 2025: comprehensive coal output per unit area, comprehensive advance rate per unit area, and overall employee productivity increased by 9.2%, 4.8%, and 7.1% year-on-year, respectively.

Shandong Gold recorded a 91.51% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first three quarters of 2025, demonstrating robust profitability. It operates multiple top-ten gold mines domestically, with core assets including the Jiaojia Gold Mine and Sanshan Island Gold Mine. The company successfully entered the Fortune Global 500, ranking 465th, showcasing significant achievements in international expansion. Its overseas mines produced 11.38 tons of gold, marking a 91% year-on-year increase.

As the world's largest rare earth enterprise group and the undisputed leader in the sector, Northern Rare Earth experienced explosive growth in 2025, with first-half net profit surging over 1,951% year-on-year. The company controls critical strategic resources like praseodymium-neodymium rare earths, with both product sales volume and average prices rising as key drivers of performance growth. Under the mandate to build “two rare earth bases,” the company is accelerating its transformation toward high-end and intelligent industrial upgrading.

Jiangxi Copper maintained its robust growth momentum as China's leading copper enterprise in 2025, with company revenue exceeding CNY570 billion. The company's core business encompasses the mining, beneficiation, smelting, and processing of non-ferrous metals including copper, gold, and silver, with a complete industrial chain. In 2025, it successfully completed a takeover bid for UK-listed Sol Gold to acquire world-class copper and gold mineral resources in Ecuador; its flagship Bakuta tungsten mine in Kazakhstan also commenced production smoothly.

In the new energy metals sector, Huayou Cobalt and Ganfeng Lithium exemplify China's formidable control over the supply chain for these critical materials. Both companies saw their market capitalization surge by over 100% by 2025, reflecting the market's long-term optimism toward “future metals” like cobalt and lithium. Their rise is a crucial element in China's strategy to leapfrog ahead in the new energy revolution.

China Gold, a major state-owned gold producer, saw its market value increase by 102.4% in 2025, demonstrating the stability of state-owned gold enterprises amid market volatility. Together with Shandong Gold, the company forms the twin pillars of China's gold industry, solidifying its foundation through domestic resource advantages.

Yankuang Energy recorded a modest 0.6% increase in 2025, reflecting the common challenges faced by traditional coal enterprises amid the energy transition. The company must strike a balance between ensuring energy security and advancing green transformation.

03 Drivers of Mining Growth

Soaring prices of precious metals and copper were the primary drivers of mining sector market capitalization growth. In 2025, the LME copper price surged 42% year-on-year, climbing from approximately $8,000–8,500 per ton at the beginning of the year to $12,400–12,900 per ton by year-end. Copper prices continued their upward trajectory in early 2026, reaching $13,000 per ton.

Earnings growth provided solid support for mining stock gains. Zijin Mining projected a 59%-62% year-on-year increase in 2025 net profit, while Huayou Cobalt anticipated net profit growth of 40.80%-55.24%. Rising volumes and prices across key minerals became a common feature of earnings expansion.

The global energy transition is driving a surge in demand for strategic minerals. According to the International Energy Agency, under current policy scenarios, global lithium demand will increase fivefold by 2040 compared to 2024, while copper demand is projected to grow by 30%. To achieve the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature control target, lithium demand would need to increase eightfold.

04 Mining Industry Restructuring Amid Energy Transition

The energy transition is profoundly reshaping the mining landscape. By 2025, performance diverged sharply between new energy minerals and traditional energy minerals. Shaanxi Coal Industry became the only Chinese company on the list to report negative growth (-3.4%), while Yanzhou Coal Mining saw only a marginal increase of 0.6%, reflecting the widespread challenges facing the coal sector.

Strategic minerals like rare earths and lithium became market focal points. By 2025, rare earths emerged as one of the most prominent sectors, though the global landscape underwent a reshuffle. By year-end, only China Northern Rare Earth Group remained firmly ranked, having long represented rare earth elements.

The clean and intelligent transformation of mining accelerated. During COP30, nations pledged to mobilize $1 trillion in investments for clean energy and power grids. Seventeen major mineral-producing countries committed to raising the share of renewable energy in mining operations to over 30% by 2030. China further set a target of achieving 40% clean energy utilization in mining by 2025.

Conclusion

The global mining industry is transitioning from a “resource-dominated” model to a dual-engine approach driven by technology and governance. As nations reassess the strategic value of critical minerals, mining companies are evolving beyond mere resource extractors to become core drivers of the global energy transition.

Whether Chinese mining enterprises can leverage this industry tailwind to secure a more advantageous position in the new global mining order will depend on their technological innovation capabilities, pace of green transformation, and international operational proficiency. The only certainty is that mineral resources will play an increasingly pivotal role in the global energy transition.

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