According to a UBS research report, the bank has maintained its "Buy" rating on Zijin Mining (02899) with a target price of HK$57.8.

The report notes that near-term production delivery from the company's Julong Copper Mine in Lhasa, Tibet, has become the primary pillar of business development in that region, while other regional projects support the next phase of growth.

Following an on-site inspection of the Julong Copper Mine's open pit, processing plant, tailings facilities, electric mining trucks, and green mine restoration areas, UBS believes that the phase two project's capacity ramp-up is progressing well and will continue to be the group's largest copper production growth driver for 2026 to 2027.

The bank points out that although the ore oxidation rate was relatively high in the early stage, the recovery rate has reached approximately 86% since the project commenced production, which is expected to support the achievement of this year's and next year's copper production guidance of 300,000 to 310,000 tonnes and 310,000 to 320,000 tonnes, respectively.

UBS states that Zijin Mining has maintained its full-year copper production guidance of 1.2 million tonnes unchanged, but there is a potential shortfall of approximately 50,000 tonnes at the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which could have an impact.