As one of the first key projects under the Cornerstone Plan of China, Chentaigou Iron Mine Project plays a critical role for China Minmetals to safeguard national mineral resources and build a mining powerhouse. It is currently advancing under the guidance of China Minmetals. The project is firmly anchored to the goal of commencing trial production by July 2026, with a focus on four major controls to drive progress. Efforts are concentrated on accelerating tunnel engineering,  scheduling reverse network plans, and facilitating critical construction. The aim is to complete 295,000 cubic meters of critical construction in 2025 and ensure that over 90% of tunnel engineering is finalized by year-end, laying a solid foundation for transition to production on schedule in 2026.

Strengthening the Four Major Controls to Build a High-Quality Project. As part of its unwavering implementation of the strategic directives from China Minmetals and Minmetals Mining , Chentaigou Iron Mine is advancing its mission by focusing on safety, timeline, quality, and investment control to systematically execute annual priorities, enhance oversight, and refine process management. The goal is to reduce labor, save time, lower costs, and improve efficiency. In terms of safety, it is required to deepen zero-tolerance for accidents and catastrophic risks. Besides, the project reinforces defenses, upholds safety baselines, and strictly avoids crossing red lines to ensure stable safety and environmental performance throughout the year. When it comes to timeline, the object adopts a goal-oriented approach. The 36-month construction timeline is broken down into detailed roadmaps and blueprints. By reverse scheduling and visualizing progress, the team ensures all critical tasks are completed by year-end. The quality align with China Minmetals’ quality culture. The project follows the philosophy that quality goes first. Thus, rigorous quality management is applied to critical works, permanent infrastructure, and underground works, striving to create a high-quality project that endures. As for investment control, the project rigorously enforces a budgeting and final accounting system to reduce costs for mining equipment, general bulk materials, and services. It strengthens the management of engineering change approvals and enhances oversight of investment expenditures.

Focusing on Milestones, Accelerating Progress at Full Throttle. Since January of this year, the Chentaigou Iron Mine Project has maintained a full momentum, relentlessly pursuing construction goals by prioritizing tunnel engineering and advancing surface-level infrastructure. During the first quarter of 2024, the project successfully navigated challenges including complex geological conditions, harsh weathers in winter, and disruptions caused by the Lunar New Year holiday. To mitigate delays and accelerate progress, the project team bolstered technical support, dynamically adjusted construction plans, and optimized the layout of the coarse crushing chamber, which collectively shortened the overall schedule and solidified the groundwork for completing underground engineering. Post-holiday safety and operational readiness were prioritized through rigorous inspections, focusing on worker retraining, site safety protocols, equipment functionality, and temporary power systems. By February 25, all project sections resumed operations following the winter hiatus, initiating large-scale earthwork excavation and transportation. As of March 24, cumulative achievements included 807,400 cubic meters of earthwork excavated, 12,600 meters of prestressed anchor cables installed, 29,000 meters of rock bolts completed, and 40,000 square meters of slope surfaces hardened. Meanwhile, the project is intensifying efforts to advance the construction of the mineral processing plant’s main structure. The bidding process for the plant was officially finalized on March 26, and construction teams are now being urgently mobilized to the site to ensure the smooth and timely commencement of the main structure.

Strengthening the Party’s Leadership to Unite Efforts and Overcome Challenges. The Chentaigou Iron Mine has vigorously upheld the tradition of establishing Party branches at the grassroots level. By advancing standardized and exemplary Party branches, the project integrates Party-building efforts with production goals, ensuring that Party building drives production, and production reinforces Party building. Deepening actions under the theme of “raising the Party flag high and showcasing the Party emblem”, the branches aim to become hubs for uniting workers, schools for educating Party members, and fortresses for tackling critical challenges. The project firmly puts work safety above all other considerations, adhering to the philosophy that safety risks represent the greatest threat to corporate operations. By focusing on on-site standardized operations and orderly site management, it advances the Five Forces, Five Drives Party-building Safety Initiative in depth. This initiative empowers Party members to play exemplary roles in critical areas such as site governance, civilized construction practices, and clean production, ensuring safety permeates every operational layer.