Gold Mountain Asset Management, the overseas asset management arm of China’s Zijin Mining Group, has opened its flagship gold and copper-focused fund to professional investors in Hong Kong, as global sentiment toward the two metals remains robust.
Previously limited to internal capital from within the Zijin group and its employees, the fund is now accessible to qualified investors such as family offices and brokerage firms with at least HK$8 million (US$1.02 million) in assets, according to managing director and portfolio manager Lisa Liu Sha.
“We are bullish on gold, because the price will be supported by ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and unresolved trade frictions,” Liu said in an interview last week.
Liu, a trained geological engineer, predicted that gold could surge to as high as US$4,000 per ounce this year, driven by a weakening US dollar and increasing demand from both investors and central banks. Gold rose 0.7% to US$3,223.55 on Monday following a downgrade of the US government’s credit rating by Moody’s Ratings, which cited persistent fiscal deficits. The US dollar also fell in response.
Joni Teves, strategist at Swiss investment bank UBS, echoed Liu’s optimism, although with a more conservative outlook. Teves forecasts gold could reach US$3,500 by year-end and potentially rise to US$3,600 by mid-2026, citing geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainties, and expected interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Liu emphasized that fundamentals remain strong for gold, pointing to declining ore quality and the dwindling number of operational mines due to years of underinvestment and overexploitation. “The most promising explorations have all been evaluated. New discoveries are harder to come by and [miners] are unable to keep up with annual production volumes,” she said.
The Zijin Global Fund, one of several funds managed by Gold Mountain, currently oversees approximately US$180 million in assets. Launched in 2013 alongside Zijin Mining’s overseas expansion, the fund returned 9.6% last year and posted an 18% gain in the first four months of 2025. Liu declined to disclose average returns since the fund’s inception.
In total, Gold Mountain manages around US$600 million in assets, including mining equities listed in North America, the UK, Australia, and Hong Kong. When including assets under a broader management mandate from its parent company, total assets under management increase to approximately US$6 billion.
Beyond fund management, Gold Mountain also provides private credit financing for overseas mine development projects, accepting physical gold as repayment.
Liu also expressed confidence in copper, citing rising demand driven by the global boom in data center construction—spurred by cloud computing and artificial intelligence—alongside ongoing supply constraints caused by underinvestment.
Meanwhile, Zijin Mining announced last month that it plans to restructure its overseas gold assets under its subsidiary Zijin Gold International, established in 2007, with a future public listing in mind. The company said the move would unlock greater shareholder value through asset revaluation amid surging gold prices. Liu declined to comment on whether Gold Mountain would be included in the spin-off.
Zijin Mining posted a record net profit of 32 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) in 2024, up 52% year-on-year, benefiting from higher gold output and prices. Its Hong Kong-listed shares have risen 22% so far this year.
The mining giant’s global footprint includes copper projects in Serbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Peru, along with gold mining operations in Colombia, Peru, Australia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, Guyana, and a pending acquisition in Ghana.
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