Srbija Zijin Mining, the Serbian arm of Chinese mining giant Zijin Mining Group, has reported a net profit exceeding €1.1 billion for 2025 — a 60% increase on the prior year and nearly four times the level recorded in 2021, when the Čukaru Peki mine first came into production.
The company’s operating revenues reached 213.8 billion dinars in 2025, up more than 18% year-on-year, with the overwhelming majority — 210.9 billion dinars — generated through the sale of copper and gold ore concentrates to affiliated entities abroad. Total revenues climbed to 224 billion dinars, and with expenses growing at a slower pace, overall profitability surged by more than 22%.
At the heart of the operation is the Čukaru Peki copper-gold mine, located six kilometres from the town of Bor in eastern Serbia, which processes three to four million tonnes of ore annually at average grades of 2.9% copper and 1.7 grams of gold per tonne. Zijin entered Serbia in January 2019 through its acquisition of Canadian company Nevsun Resources, which held ownership of the Čukaru Peki deposit — considered one of the richest ore bodies of its kind in Europe. The mine was formally commissioned in 2021.
The company also holds five exploration licences across Serbia and retains 100% ownership of both the upper and lower zones of the Čukaru Peki deposit. Development of the Lower Zone is planned across three phases, with intensive construction scheduled to continue through to 2052, according to the annual report. Finalisation of studies and acquisition of trial permits are currently underway.
Beyond its core mining operations, Srbija Zijin Mining acquired 930 hectares of land across 2,523 plots in 2025, paying €31.25 million in compensation, and took over a former Falkensteiner hotel in Novi Beograd through the acquisition of company Alba Invest. The company’s cash position nearly doubled, rising from 5.9 billion to 10.5 billion dinars, while total property, plant and equipment increased from 117 billion to 133 billion dinars. By the end of 2025, the company employed 1,369 people.
Srbija Zijin Mining is wholly owned by Čukaru Peki, a Netherlands-registered entity, and forms part of Zijin Mining Group’s global portfolio, which spans 16 provincial-level regions within China and 21 projects across 15 countries, including the Kamoa-Kakula and Kolwezi copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Buriticá gold mine in Colombia.
