by PENG Peng

CMOC Group(603993.SH), one of China's largest base-metals miners, said on Monday it will buy 100% of three gold mining assets in Brazil from Canada's Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX; NYSE-A: EQX) for $1.015 billion, deepening its push into gold as part of a broader overseas expansion.

The deal includes an upfront payment of $900 million and contingent payments of up to $115 million, tied to gold sales in the first full year after completion, the company said in a filing.

The transaction covers four operating mines: the Aurizona mine in Maranhão, the RDM mine in Minas Gerais, and the Bahia complex in Bahia state, which includes the Fazenda and Santa Luz mines.

CMOC said the assets will be acquired through the purchase of Leagold LatAm Holdings B.V. and Luna Gold Corp., both owned by Equinox Gold, by its wholly owned subsidiary CMOC Holdings Ltd. and a newly established unit.

The mines produced 247,300 ounces of gold in 2024 and are expected to deliver 250,000 to 270,000 ounces in 2025, the company said.

The assets hold 5.01 million ounces of gold resources, including 3.87 million ounces classified as reserves.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals including clearance from Brazil's antitrust authority CADE and relevant Chinese regulators. CMOC said the transaction does not constitute a major asset restructuring under China's listing rules.

Chairman and chief investment officer LIU Jianfeng said the acquisition underscores the company's long-term confidence in gold and supports its push to broaden earnings beyond copper. He said the Brazilian assets are expected to complement the group's existing niobium and phosphate operations in the country, helping to scale operations in South America.

The deal follows CMOC's acquisition of the Cangrejos gold project in Ecuador in April 2025, its second major overseas gold purchase this year. Once the Brazilian deal is completed, the company expects annual gold output to increase by about 8 tonnes, rising to more than 20 tonnes after the Ecuador project comes on stream.

CMOC reported revenue of 145.49 billion yuan (about US$20.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2025, down 5.99% from a year earlier, while net profit attributable to shareholders jumped 72.61% to 14.28 billion yuan, already surpassing its full-year profit for 2024, according to an Oct. 24 earnings release.

Shares of CMOC were up 1.93% at 17.92 yuan by midday on Monday, valuing the company at about 383.3 billion yuan (about US$54.4 billion).