Comments on the operation of the board of directors of Baiyin Nonferrous Metals Co., Ltd. in 2022

() The business review of the Board of Directors in the first half of 2022 is as follows:

  I. Description of the industry and main business of the company during the reporting period.

(A) the macroeconomic situation in the first half of 2022

1. The global economic situation in the first half of 2022

In the first quarter of 2022, affected by the recurrent COVID-19 epidemic and other factors, the global imbalance between supply and demand intensified, the growth rate of goods trade slowed down, the inflation level increased significantly, and the economic recovery process slowed down. In the second quarter of 2022, both the global supply side and the global demand side faced downward pressure. The growth rate of industrial production, enterprise investment, household consumption and international trade slowed down, the economic growth rate dropped significantly, and the inflation level rose in an all-round way. The international financial market continued to be turbulent, the Federal Reserve initiated a radical interest rate hike policy, the US dollar index rose strongly, major stock markets fluctuated and fell, and commodity prices continued to weaken.

2. Domestic economic situation in the first half of 2022

In the first half of 2022, China’s economy faced unprecedented challenges, especially since March, due to the unexpected factors such as the new round of COVID-19 epidemic in China, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and its sanctions, the downward pressure on China’s economy has obviously increased, which has a certain impact on the normal growth of the macro economy. With the easing of the epidemic, combined with the comprehensive efforts of macro-policies and the repair and adjustment of market players, China’s economy rebounded, with GDP growth of 2.5% in the first half of the year, and the economy stabilized and rebounded.

(II) Changes in the US dollar index and exchange rate

From January to June, 2022, the highest dollar index was 105.7913, the lowest was 94.6269, and the average value from January to June was 99.7205, which was 9.57% higher than the average value from January to June, 2021. At the end of June 2022, the closing index was 104.7057, which was 13.36% higher than the closing price at the end of June 2021. (Source:)

From January to June, 2022, the highest value of USD against RMB was 6.8150, and the lowest value was 6.3048. The average value from January to June was 6.4829, which was 128 basis points lower than the average value from January to June, 2021, with a depreciation rate of 0.20%. The closing price at the end of June 2022 was 6.6943, which was 2,331 basis points lower than that at the end of June 2021, with a depreciation rate of 3.61%.

(III) Market situation of nonferrous metals and precious metals where the company is located

In the first half of 2022, the price of non-ferrous metals rose first and then fell. From the beginning of the year to the end of April, driven by energy worries and the supply shortage caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, non-ferrous metals rose strongly under the influence of inflation expectations and macro-emotions; Subsequently, the American hawkish action was expected to strengthen and the global economic growth rate was lowered. Since the end of April, non-ferrous prices have been under pressure. During this period, the US dollar dominated the rhythm of its volatility and retreated all the gains in the first half of the year.

1. Prices of nonferrous metals and precious metals products.

(1) Copper

From January to June, 2022, the highest price of LME-3M copper contract was $10,845/ton, and the lowest price was $8,123/ton. The average price from January to June was $9,755/ton, which was 7.35% higher than that from January to June, 2021. From January to June, 2022, the highest price of Shanghai copper main contract of Shanghai Futures Exchange was 77,270 yuan/ton, and the lowest price was 61,620 yuan/ton. The average price in January to June, 2022 was 71,536 yuan/ton, which was 7.11% higher than that in January to June, 2021.

In the first half of 2022, the overall copper price rose and fell. In the first half of the year, there were inflation expectations in the global economy. In February, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine caused the prices of crude oil, natural gas and other energy sources to rise sharply. At the same time, the extreme long-term crowding caused by the nickel incident in March further stimulated inflation speculation, so the copper price fluctuated sharply from January to April. In late April, the Federal Reserve started to raise interest rates in response to inflation, and constantly accelerated the pace of raising interest rates, which tightened the liquidity of funds. In addition, investors expected the economic recession in Europe and the United States, and copper prices entered a rapid downward trend.

(2) Zinc

From January to June 2022, the highest price of LME-3M zinc contract was USD 4,896/ton, and the lowest price was USD 3,136/ton. The average price in January to June 2022 was USD 3,799/ton, which was 33.36% higher than that in January to June 2021. From January to June, 2022, the highest price of the main contract of Shanghai Zinc in Shanghai Futures Exchange was 28,995 yuan/ton, and the lowest price was 25,525 yuan/ton. From January to June, 2022, the average price was 25,843 yuan/ton, which was 19.74% higher than that in January and June, 2021.

In the first half of 2022, the price of zinc rose first and then fell. Among them, Shanghai zinc reached a 15-year high of 28,995 yuan/ton, and fell sharply to a new low this year. Similarly, Lunzinc broke through a record high of 4,896 US dollars/ton in March and was under pressure.

(3) Lead

From January to June 2022, the highest price of LME-3M lead contract was $2,700/ton, and the lowest price was $1,883/ton. From January to June 2022, the average price was $2,265/ton, which was 8.72% higher than that in January to June 2021. From January to June, 2022, the highest price of Shanghai lead main contract in Shanghai Futures Exchange was 16,465 yuan/ton, and the lowest price was 14,680 yuan/ton. The average price in January-June, 2022 was 15,323 yuan/ton, which was 0.70% higher than that in January-June, 2021.

In the first half of 2022, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the European energy crisis, high inflation in overseas developed economies and the China epidemic led to limited economic activities in some areas, and the global financial market fluctuated violently. The major economies were "stock and debt bears", and commodities peaked and fell back after high shocks. The drag of the big environment led to the fall of colored high levels and the shock of lead prices. In the first half of 2022, the overall lead price showed a low volatility trend.

(4) Gold

From January to June, 2022, the highest price of COMEX gold was $2,079/ounce, and the lowest price was $1,781/ounce. From January to June, 2022, the average price was $1,877/ounce, which was 4.03% higher than the average price from January to June, 2021.

From January to June 2022, the highest price of spot gold 9999 in Shanghai Gold Exchange was 416.18 yuan/gram, and the lowest price was 368.42 yuan/gram. The average price from January to June 2022 was 391.94 yuan/gram, which was 3.59% higher than that from January to June 2021.

In the first quarter of 2022, due to the sudden escalation of geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, risk aversion rose sharply, and the sharp rise in energy prices once again ignited inflation expectations. With the double boost of safe-haven demand and inflation worries, the gold price, the US dollar index and the US bond yield rose simultaneously. Subsequently, due to the staged easing of the situation in Russia and Ukraine, the Federal Reserve started this round of interest rate hike cycle, and the price of gold fluctuated at a high level. Until mid-April, due to inflationary pressure from overseas economies, off the charts, the Federal Reserve turned completely into an eagle, and its determination to curb inflation was firm. As a result, the pace of interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve continued to exceed expectations, and the real interest rate in the United States began to rise, from negative to positive, thus suppressing the price of gold.

(5) Silver

From January to June 2022, the highest price of COMEX silver was $27/oz, and the lowest price was $20/oz. The average price from January to June 2022 was $23/oz, which was 11.79% lower than the average price from January to December 2020. From January to June 2022, the highest price of Huatong Platinum Silver 1# silver was 5313 yuan/kg, and the lowest price was 4490 yuan/kg. The average price from January to June 2022 was 4856 yuan/kg, which was 10.42% lower than that from January to June 2021. (Source: Huatong Baiyin Net)

In the first half of 2022, silver followed the trend of gold price as a whole, but the overall performance of silver was weaker than that of gold because of the double negative effects of financial and commodity attributes.

2. Output of nonferrous metals and precious metals products

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first half of 2022, the industrial added value of non-ferrous metals industry increased by 5% year-on-year. The output of ten kinds of non-ferrous metals was 32.83 million tons, up by 1% year-on-year. Among them, the output of copper, aluminum and lead increased by 2.5%, 0.7% and 3.1% respectively, and the output of zinc decreased by 1.7%.

According to the latest statistics of () Association, in the first half of 2022, the domestic raw material gold output was 174.69 tons, an increase of 21.93 tons compared with the first half of 2021, and a year-on-year increase of 14.36%. Among them, 139.15 tons of gold minerals and 35.53 tons of non-ferrous by-product gold were completed.

3. Profits of non-ferrous metal mining, smelting and rolling processing industries

According to the data of National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, 2022, the mining industry realized a total profit of 708.27 billion yuan, up 130.9% year-on-year, and the non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry realized a total profit of 29.77 billion yuan, up 54.2% year-on-year.

4. Investment in non-ferrous metals industry

From January to May 2022, investment in mining industry increased by 17.3% year-on-year, and investment in nonferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 14.1% year-on-year. Overall, the revenue of industrial enterprises rebounded in 2022. Driven by the gradual recovery of production logistics and the smooth supply chain of industrial chain, the sales situation of industrial enterprises has improved. (Source: National Bureau of Statistics)

(4) Main business of the company

The company’s main business is the mining, smelting, processing and trade of copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and other non-ferrous metals and precious metals. Its business covers the whole industrial chain of non-ferrous metal exploration, mining, mineral processing, smelting and processing, involving domestic and foreign regions. It is a large-scale non-ferrous metal and precious metal enterprise with deep industry accumulation and initially formed an international layout.

(five) the company’s main products and their uses

The cathode copper produced by the company is widely used in various fields such as electricity, light industry, machinery manufacturing, construction industry, etc. The downstream customers and enterprises further process the cathode copper to form deep-processed products such as copper rods, copper wires, copper plates, wires and cables. Electric lead is mainly used to manufacture lead storage batteries and anti-corrosion equipment. Zinc is mainly used for electroplating zinc, alloy manufacturing, casting of precision castings and zinc compounds and salts; Precious metal gold and silver are widely used in daily necessities plating and jewelry industries except for some exports.

In 2021, the company ranked 333rd among the top 500 enterprises in China, 22nd among non-ferrous industries and 97th among the top 100 multinational companies in China.

(VI) Business model of the company

During the reporting period, the company’s main business model has not changed significantly.

1. Production mode

In the first half of 2022, the company mainly produced copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and comprehensively recovered copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver, nickel, tellurium, selenium, platinum, palladium, indium, rhenium, bismuth and other rare precious metals and sulfuric acid. The company’s main products were organized and produced by international standards.

In copper smelting, the company adopts the smelting process of "flash furnace system flash smelting furnace" which has reached the world advanced level.

In the field of lead and zinc, the company adopts low-pollution jarosite wet zinc smelting process and ISP zinc smelting process, with advanced technology and obvious complementary advantages.

In production management, the company relies on the continuous and effective operation of the three systems of GB/T19001-2016 quality management, GB/T24001-2016 environmental management and GB/T45001-2020 occupational health and safety management to ensure that the product quality is strictly controlled, and the main economic and technical indicators have reached the domestic advanced level.

Adhering to the development path of innovative economies of scale, the company continued to vigorously carry out technological innovation, made new breakthroughs in independent innovation of core technologies, steadily advanced the upgrading of production technologies, comprehensively improved the level of comprehensive utilization of resources, gradually formed a new format of circular economy, made new progress in green sustainable development, made solid progress in industrial upgrading, integrated development of resources and international operation, and continuously improved the company’s profitability and competitiveness.

2. Purchasing mode

The company’s procurement mode is mainly divided into domestic raw materials and imported raw materials procurement.

Domestic raw material procurement is divided into two modes: mine direct procurement and trader procurement. According to geographical advantages, mine direct supply is preferred, followed by traders with stable supply and large supply, and the mode of combining long orders with spot procurement is adopted.

The procurement of imported raw materials is mainly based on land transportation concentrate procurement, supplemented by sea transportation concentrate procurement, and sea transportation ore is mainly used for winter raw material reserve.

In the process of purchasing raw materials, the company gives full play to the advantages of production technology, purchases raw materials with price advantages and high added value, and avoids price risks through raw material hedging.

3. Sales model

There are two main ways to sell company products.

First, the local sales of silver are mainly aimed at the local sales of sulfuric acid, slag materials and waste materials.

Second, through the centralized trading of Silver Headquarters, Shanghai Honglu International Trading Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, is used as a platform to realize the sales of main products of copper, lead and zinc, form a sales network in different places, and set up a warehouse in different places according to market demand.

The sales network can not only directly face the market, grasp the local market demand, but also know the customer information in time and provide good after-sales service. The company adjusts the sales price and sales strategy daily according to market conditions at any time to effectively cope with market changes.

Second, the discussion and analysis of the business situation

(1) Production situation

In the first half of 2022, the company’s mining and dressing system produced 123,500 tons of copper, lead, zinc and molybdenum concentrate, an increase of 3,200 tons, or 2.66%, compared with the same period of last year, of which 30,800 tons of concentrate contained copper, or an increase of 6,300 tons, or 25.71%. The concentrate contains 80,100 tons of zinc, which is 5,500 tons less than that of the same period of last year, with a range of 6.43%. The concentrate contains 12,500 tons of lead, an increase of 24,000 tons over the same period of last year, with a range of 23.76%; The concentrate contains 92 tons of molybdenum, an increase of 15 tons over the same period of last year, with a range of 19.48%. The main reasons for the increase of copper, lead and zinc metal in the concentrate produced by the company’s mining and dressing system compared with the same period of last year are: the change of ore grade of Peru tailings and the improvement of mineral processing technology.

The smelting system produced 125,900 tons of cathode copper, an increase of 24,100 tons over the same period of last year, with a range of 23.67%; The production of electrical lead was 0.83 million tons, a decrease of 0.23 million tons compared with the same period of last year, with a range of 21.7%; The production of zinc products was 200,900 tons, an increase of 24,900 tons over the same period of last year, with a range of 14.15%; It produced 4,843 kilograms of gold (including 1,272 kilograms of gold produced by the first gold), an increase of 1,317 kilograms over the same period of last year, with a range of 37.35%; The production of silver was 96.1 tons, an increase of 9.6 tons or 11.1% over the same period of last year; The production of sulfuric acid was 737,800 tons, an increase of 53,500 tons or 7.82% over the same period of last year. The year-on-year increase of non-ferrous metal cathode copper and by-products of gold, silver and sulfuric acid was mainly due to the adjustment of production mode of copper smelting and electrolysis process, and the output of non-ferrous metal products and by-products increased compared with the same period of last year; The main reason for the year-on-year decrease of electric lead is that the production of electric lead decreased year-on-year due to the maintenance of production system; The main reason for the year-on-year increase of zinc products is that the effective production time in the first half of the year of Chengzhou Zinc Smelter under the company increased compared with the same period of last year, and the output increased year-on-year.

(II) Construction of key projects

The 6.8 million tons/year tailings comprehensive utilization expansion project of Shouxin Peru Company is implementing civil engineering and steel structure engineering, and the overall project progress is 82%; The green mineral processing reagent project started construction at the end of April 2022; The upgrading and transformation project of copper smelting technology was completed; Baiyin furnace’s technological innovation and upgrading project is undergoing the main civil engineering construction, and some long-term equipment has been ordered; The comprehensive recovery and harmless treatment project of zinc hydrometallurgy slag has been completed and is currently in the trial production stage; The ultra-fine wire rod capacity improvement project for intelligent equipment is under process equipment installation and is expected to be put into production at the end of the year; Xinjiang Company’s 3# open pit infrastructure stripping project started construction in May 2022.

(III) Technological innovation

The company vigorously expanded external collaborative innovation and deepened the cooperation of "Industry-University-Research", and completed three provincial-level science and technology plan projects in the first half of the year; The company and china environmental science Research Institute jointly declared the "Tenth Five-Year Plan"-the key project of "Key Technologies and Equipment of Circular Economy"-"Real-time Monitoring of the Whole Process of Wet Smelting and Control Technology for Reducing the Source of Anode Mud Hazardous Waste"; Jointly declare the 2022 provincial science and technology major project "R&D and industrialization of high-purity rhenium for aero-engine turbine blades" with the Research Institute of Resources and Environment Technology; Together with Lanzhou University and Lanshi Zhongke, we jointly declared the 2022 provincial science and technology major project "High-value Utilization of Lead-zinc Smelting Tailings"; In close contact with the research and development institutions of "One Institute and Three Institutes" of Chinese Academy of Sciences, we have successfully undertaken the project of "Key Technology Research and Industrialization Experiment of Electrolytic Copper Quality Improvement" funded by the central government to guide local scientific and technological development in 2022 with Lanzhou Institute of Chemistry of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and are currently carrying out preliminary research.

Focusing on the newly promulgated "Measures for the Management of Scientific Research Projects of Revealing the List and Leading the Team", a number of "stuck-neck" technical key projects that can significantly improve indicators and reduce costs in the process of production and operation are condensed. The 173 technical key projects that were signed for docking were all implemented as planned, and nearly 40′ stuck’ technical problems, such as’ research on comprehensive utilization technology of complex lead and zinc resources’ and’ tackling key problems of improving Fe/SiO2 _ 2 technology of flash furnace slag’, have made key breakthroughs, gradually opened up production processes and carried out on-site industrial production. The company gives full play to the role of innovation platform and cultivates leading talents in scientific and technological innovation, in order to create an innovative atmosphere within the company, stimulate the innovation vitality of the company, and ensure that under the guidance of high-quality development, the innovative atmosphere is continuously enhanced and the scientific and technological innovation ability is steadily improved. Up to now, relying on the national enterprise technology center, the company has set up an academician expert workstation and 17 technological innovation platforms, including 2 national, 11 provincial, 4 enterprise-level and 7 subordinate high-tech enterprises.

(IV) Construction of internal control

In the first half of 2022, we will continue to optimize and improve the internal control system based on the company’s articles of association in combination with the relevant requirements of the company’s three-year reform and the construction of the internal control system, so as to effectively improve the company’s governance level, management efficiency and risk prevention and control capabilities. Formulated the Work Arrangement for Improving the Two-level Internal Control System in 2022, and compiled the Internal Control System (Revision) Plan; We revised and improved the Articles of Association and related systems for regulating the construction of the company’s board of directors, and comprehensively completed the phased work of combing and integrating internal control systems that meet the operational requirements of state-owned assets supervision and listing norms in business areas such as scientific and technological development, budget and marketing. Up to now, 29 internal control systems have been newly built, 40 internal control systems have been revised, 73 internal control systems have been abolished, and 401 internal control systems covering 198 key business management processes in 10 categories covering all businesses and management have been established and improved.

(五)安全环保情况

安全方面,公司围绕年度安全生产和职业卫生工作目标,持续推进各项重点工作的开展,通过扎实推进三年专项整治巩固提升,持续强化外包工程单位安全监管,全面开启安全生产标准化提质升级建设,强化安全监督管理,持续开展常态化和专业化的风险隐患排查治理,持续开展全员安全教育培训,加强职业病危害源头治理和应急救援能力建设等重点工作的落实,持续提升公司安全生产治理能力和治理水平。

环保方面,公司立足实际,深入落实习近平生态文明思想,把思想和行动统一到中央和省、市决策部署上来,以实现减污降碳协同增效为总抓手,以制度管理、项目实施为手段,坚持“源头控制、规范治理”的原则,积极探索、多途径寻求生态环境治理新方式,保障环保投入,保证环保设施运行效果,构建主体产业清洁生产,夯实环保基础管理。狠抓环保设施运行管理,废水、废气连续稳定达标排放,各类固体废物均进行合规处置,全面排查整治环境隐患,不断完善各单位区域性风险防控体系,持续推进环境治理,坚决打赢污染防治攻坚战。

(六)党的建设情况

2022年上半年,公司党委深入贯彻新时代党的建设总要求、习近平总书记关于国资国企改革发展和党的建设的重要论述、省第十四次党代会精神,紧紧围绕发展要务,把增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”,体现在坚决贯彻党中央决策部署的行动上,体现在履职尽责、做好本职工作的实效上,体现在讲责任讲担当的日常言行上,一以贯之通过贯彻落实党的理论和路线方针政策来把准企业改革发展的正确方向,通过深化董事会职权改革来提升公司治理能力、激发企业动力活力,通过党管干部党管人才与市场化选聘相结合来建强领导班子和职工队伍,通过发挥基层党组织战斗堡垒作用和党员先锋模范作用来推动各项工作任务落实,通过全面从严管党治党来一体推进三不机制取得更大成效,为企业高质量发展提供坚强党建保障。

(七)履行社会责任情况

The company gives full play to the advantages of party building, ideology and politics, innovation and creation, organization and management of large state-owned enterprises, and actively carries out consumer assistance. In the first half of 2022, it invested 1.48 million yuan in helping Huining County and Chengxian County, mainly for rural revitalization and enriching people’s industries; The company organized to invest 3,819,200 yuan in consumer assistance funds to help solve the problem of difficult sales of agricultural products in poverty-stricken areas; The company strives for 150,000 yuan from send warm, Gansu Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, and helps 124 people in difficulty; Strive for the Baiyin City Federation of Trade Unions to help fund 687,650 yuan and help 99 employees with difficulties. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, the company organized more than 1,000 employees to donate blood for free in stages and batches, and 192 employees have actively participated in voluntary blood donation. At the same time, the company sent anti-epidemic materials and food to the frontline workers at the grassroots level to convey positive energy, establish a new fashion, and fulfill corporate political and social responsibilities with high pattern, high standards and high goals.

Major changes in the company’s operation during the reporting period, as well as matters that have a significant impact on the company’s operation during the reporting period and are expected to have a significant impact in the future.

Third, possible risks

1. Market environmental risks. Non-ferrous metal industry is a basic raw material industry in the fields of national economy, people’s daily life and national defense industry. It belongs to a typical cyclical industry and is closely related to the macroeconomic operation. Macroeconomic fluctuations have a great impact on the prices of non-ferrous metal products. By strengthening the research and analysis of macro-economy, government policies and industry development, the company makes timely countermeasures for possible risks.

2. Industrial policy risks. With the deepening of domestic supply-side reform and the rising competition threshold, head enterprises will accelerate the integration of factor resources, focus on solving the key challenges faced by the industry in terms of resources, energy and technology, and store energy for future industrial development, which will accelerate the reorganization and integration of superior resources, promote the improvement of industry concentration and promote the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure. The company will take advantage of the great opportunity of the state to promote the reform of state-owned capital, actively strive for the policy support of the state and Gansu Province, continuously optimize the industrial layout and improve the conditions for industrial development.

3. Political risks. South Africa and Peru, the main investment places of the company, have good political relations with the government of China, and both countries are countries with low political risks. With the deepening of economic cooperation between China and the two countries, the investment risks are controllable. At the same time, the company’s local management personnel actively pay attention to political trends and maintain a high degree of contact with the embassy, and report the relevant situation to the company in time to ensure that the risks are controllable.

4. Domestic and foreign legal risks. The legal risks faced by the company are mainly litigation and arbitration risks, and the laws of the countries where overseas investment is made are different, so it is necessary to face a large number of legal contracts and related legal issues cautiously. The company will do a good job in relevant legal work, continue to improve the legal risk prevention system at home and abroad, establish and improve the legal risk prevention system at home and abroad, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company to the maximum extent, provide professional services and legal advice by hiring a professional team of lawyers, and participate in the transaction process, thus providing a strong guarantee for controlling legal risks.

5. Environmental risks. With the continuous improvement of environmental protection requirements for comprehensive management of ecological environment in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the goal and vision of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality put forward by the state, it has become an important task for mining and metallurgy enterprises to carry out green manufacturing at present. Facing the increasingly severe environmental pressure, the company will strengthen the analysis of industry policies, formulate reasonable production and management strategies, strengthen environmental protection, promote the application of energy-saving and environmental protection technologies, and realize green development.

6. Product price risk. The prices of the company’s main products such as copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver are mainly determined with reference to domestic and international market prices. The domestic and international market prices of these metals are not only affected by changes in supply and demand, but also closely related to the development of macroeconomics and downstream related industries. Great changes in the global economic environment, market supply and demand, industry development policies, tariffs and exchange rates will have a great impact on product prices and aggravate the fluctuation range and frequency of non-ferrous product prices. By making full use of risk hedging means, the company standardizes hedging to minimize the adverse impact on the company’s operations.

7. Raw material procurement risk. The price of raw materials is closely related to the prices of basic metals such as copper, zinc and lead. The price of base metals is not only affected by changes in supply and demand, but also by the development of macro-economy and downstream related industries. In addition, the epidemic situation will also have an impact on the supply of non-ferrous materials and the price of non-ferrous metals. In the first half of 2022, the epidemic situation occurred repeatedly at home and abroad, which affected the procurement of raw materials at home and abroad to varying degrees. The transportation was blocked and the planned arrival was delayed, which had a certain impact on the production of enterprises. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine led to an increase in oil prices and freight rates, which led to an increase in procurement costs and production costs of enterprises. If the above factors lead to the continuous decline in the price of basic metals, it will reduce the selling price of the company’s products, which will adversely affect the company’s operating performance.

Measures to deal with the risk of raw material procurement: keep a close eye on the changing factors such as market price, exchange rate, demand, processing fee and supply, keep abreast of the production situation of smelters and mines at home and abroad, and formulate procurement strategies and modes according to market information, inventory situation and production situation; Increase the proportion of mine procurement at home and abroad, and sign long-term strategic cooperation agreements with mining enterprises to ensure long-term stable supply. Dig deep into the market potential, graft the trading platform of subsidiaries, give full play to the channels and advantages of subsidiaries, increase the market share, and enhance the market control ability and raw material guarantee ability. Fine management, standardize the procurement process, optimize the management mode of procurement funds, speed up capital turnover, and improve the level of risk prevention and control.

8. Trading risks of financial derivatives. The financial derivatives transactions conducted by the company are mainly hedging business. Hedging can help enterprises to transfer and avoid price risks, but at the same time, they have to face various risks brought by hedging transactions. The main risks are divided into compliance risk, market risk, cash flow risk, liquidity risk, basis risk, credit risk, operational risk and agreement legal risk. The company will strictly implement the business rules of the futures exchange and the relevant systems of the company’s hedging business to effectively prevent trading risks.

Iv. analysis of core competitiveness during the reporting period

(A) scientific and technological innovation

The company leads technological innovation and management innovation with concept innovation, and continues to carry out technological research and development and tackle key problems, and its technical support role is increasing day by day. In the first half of 2022, the company applied for 154 patents, including 60 invention patents; 64 patents were authorized, including 22 invention patents; Completed 3 patents in Gansu Province and published 33 scientific papers; 198 technical research and R&D projects were carried out, 4 national provincial science and technology projects were declared, and 2 Baiyin science and technology projects were declared.

(2) Information on domestic and overseas resources

Domestic resources: The company has mine resources, with 7,983,300 tons of copper, lead and zinc, including 248,200 tons of copper, 1,578,000 tons of lead and 6,157,100 tons of zinc. The amount of gold metal is 14.56 tons, the amount of silver metal is 1,817.35 tons and the amount of molybdenum metal is 14,500 tons.

Overseas resources: Shouxin Peru Company, a holding subsidiary established by the company in Peru, has achieved a production capacity of 6.8 million tons/year for copper, iron, gold, silver and other polymetallic ores.

As of June 30, 2022, the gold resources of First Gold, a wholly-owned company of the company, were 29.03 million ounces, about 902.9 tons, and the gold reserves were 556,000 ounces, about 17.3 tons; Don Giza Company, a wholly-owned company of the company, controls+infers the amount of gold and metal of 1.5317 tons (about 4.9245 million ounces), including 1.2166 tons (about 3.9116 million ounces) of gold and metal of control level and 31.51 tons (about 1.0131 million ounces) of gold and metal of inferred level.

(C) Circular economy

The company has the key technology of comprehensive utilization of complex and refractory copper smelting slag resources in baiyin furnace, and comprehensively recovered valuable elements such as copper, gold and silver from copper smelting slag.

It has a production line with an annual processing capacity of 1.4 million tons of copper smelting slag, with an annual comprehensive recovery capacity of 22,000 tons of copper, and the comprehensive recovery of copper metal is equivalent to a medium-sized mine.

With the smelting technology of low-sulfur and high-lead secondary copper materials, the efficient separation of copper, lead, zinc, precious metals and impurities has been realized.

Has the key technology of multi-source solid waste collaborative utilization in copper, lead and zinc smelting.

It has a new technology of efficient separation and comprehensive recovery of copper, cadmium and cobalt from zinc smelting purification slag.

It has the technology of efficient and controllable recovery of copper and rhenium from copper smelting acid system.

It has the technology of separating zinc and lead from hard zinc and extracting indium to enrich precious metals.

It has a complete set of technology and production line for treating 140,000 tons of zinc hydrometallurgy slag every year.

(D) A variety of complementary processes

The company is a comprehensive production base of various non-ferrous metals in China, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of copper, 400,000 tons of lead and zinc, 15 tons of gold and 500 tons of silver. It has the unique advantages of comprehensive development of copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver, and the industrial chain is connected and matched, with obvious complementary and synergistic advantages.

In the field of copper smelting, the company’s "Silver Copper Smelting Method" smelting process is the only copper smelting technology with independent intellectual property rights in China. Through years of technical research and development, the overall process and supporting technology of "New Silver Copper Melting Tank Melting Furnace" have been innovated and won the second prize of national invention and the first prize of national scientific and technological progress, with strong applicability of raw materials and unique advantages of technology. At present, the flash furnace system of the upgrading and transformation project of copper smelting technology has reached the production standard, which indicates that the flash furnace will realize a strong alliance with the only new baiyin furnace with independent intellectual property rights in China, and the comprehensive competitiveness of silver nonferrous copper smelting will be greatly enhanced through the substantial improvement of raw material applicability and the complementarity of process comparative advantages.

In the field of lead and zinc, the company adopts the new jarosite wet zinc smelting process and the improved ISP fire zinc smelting process. The 152㎡ fluidized roaster is the first roaster with the largest hearth area in the world, forming a new generation of zinc metallurgical technology with independent intellectual property rights in China, and its energy consumption and environmental protection level have reached the highest requirements of the industry, creating a low-cost green and low-carbon development road for the industry. ISP pyrometallurgical zinc smelting process is the only smelting process in the industry that can realize the mixing of copper, lead and zinc, and has outstanding advantages in comprehensive utilization of resources. It can treat all kinds of low-grade lead and zinc mixed ores, lean ores, refractory ores and secondary oxidized materials containing lead and zinc, and maximize the enrichment and recovery of the associated valuable metals in raw materials. The pyrometallurgical zinc smelting and wet contact process have obvious complementary advantages.

Precious metal treatment system, the Caldo furnace process introduced by OutotecAB, has the production capacity of comprehensively processing 4000 tons of copper-lead anode slime, recovering 15 tons of gold and 500 tons of silver, and producing refined selenium, platinum, palladium, tellurium and other products.

By giving full play to the complementary and synergistic advantages of the process, the associated valuable metals and rare elements in the concentrate can pass through the corresponding smelting process, and the comprehensive utilization of resources can be realized to the greatest extent. It has the annual comprehensive recovery capacity of 6,500 tons of copper metal and about 750 tons of associated and rare metals such as selenium, cadmium, rhenium, tellurium, bismuth, antimony, indium, platinum, palladium, cobalt and nickel.

(E) Extension of high-end industrial chain

The company has a production capacity of 200,000 tons of copper smelting, which has laid a solid foundation for further extending the downstream processing and manufacturing industry chain of the copper industry, optimizing the industrial structure and enhancing the systematic competitiveness of the whole value chain of the company’s copper industry sector.

Changtong company, a subsidiary of the company, is a key high-tech enterprise in the national torch plan. The leading products are high and low temperature superconducting cables; Fine and ultra-fine electromagnetic wire; Power cable; Cables, overhead conductors and special cables for electrical equipment. The products are used in major projects at home and abroad, such as Jiuquan Satellite Launch Base, Tiangong-1, Shenzhou series, State Grid Project, large-scale hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power generation project, high and low temperature superconducting cables for national science projects and international cooperation projects, and many other fields. 40 superconducting cables with a total length of 30 kilometers have been provided for the international thermonuclear fusion experimental reactor and the China fusion experimental reactor project. Up to now, Changtong Company has built a production base of 16,000 square meters of micro electromagnetic wires, forming a production capacity of 10,000 tons of micro electromagnetic wires of various models and specifications, realizing the extreme manufacturing of ultra-micro electromagnetic wires (0.012mm), and the technical level has reached the leading position in China. Simultaneously carry out the capacity expansion project of micro electromagnetic wire, further improve the production capacity of micro electromagnetic wire to 20 thousand tons/year, and lay a good foundation for deepening the development of micro electromagnetic wire market and exerting scale effect.

The Silk Road Big Data Co., Ltd., in which the company shares, further relies on the advantages of shareholders, based on the new platform, and creates new breakthrough points and growth points; Gansu Defu New Materials Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of battery-grade high-grade copper foil. Electrolytic copper foil for high-grade lithium batteries is a key component of lithium-ion batteries, which is at the front end of the new energy industry chain, and is the basis for the development of end products in the fields of information communication, consumer electronics, household appliances, automotive electronics, energy-saving lighting, industrial control, aerospace, military industry and so on. The construction of electrolytic copper foil project for high-grade lithium batteries is a powerful measure for the company to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, extend the industrial chain, optimize the industrial layout and improve the market competitiveness. By the end of June, 2022, Gansu Defu New Materials Co., Ltd. has formed a production capacity of 30,000 tons, and is accelerating the implementation of the third phase of 40,000 tons and subsequent capacity expansion projects. After the overall project is completed, it will further exert the scale effect and enhance economic benefits.

(6) Procurement of raw materials

The main competitiveness of the company’s domestic mine procurement is reflected in its regional advantages. Through the nearby procurement in Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places, the price advantage is obvious.

The procurement of imported minerals is mainly based on signing long-term contracts with foreign mining enterprises to ensure stable supply and reduce logistics costs; At the same time, constantly standardize the contract terms, improve the performance service ability and reduce the procurement risk.

Make full use of the rich mineral resources in Central Asia and the advantages of the national "Belt and Road" strategic policy, strive for national policy support, strengthen project cooperation with foreign mines, logistics groups and border ports along the route, maximize import efficiency, improve customs clearance timeliness and convenience, and reduce import costs.

(VII) Product sales

The company’s main products, copper and zinc, are sold at the spot price of copper and zinc in the month of Shanghai Futures Exchange plus the daily premium. The pricing method is advanced, flexible, closer to the market and highly transparent, and the customer’s purchase intention is enhanced by agreeing on the spot price period.

The company’s sales network covers areas and provinces and cities with rapid economic development in China, which can effectively cope with market changes and ensure that products are produced and sold immediately.

The company hedges products and raw materials to effectively prevent and control price risks.

The company’s domestic market share of copper, lead and zinc is currently 2.5%, 0.4% and 4.2%, and the product quality has also been widely recognized by customers in the market, with high credibility and competitiveness.

(8) Investment and trade business

According to the company’s development strategy, we will continue to accelerate the layout of investment and trade business, gather international high-end talents, and promote transformation and leapfrog development. Focusing on resource development, the company implemented the strategy of "going out" overseas to ensure resources, and successively set up platforms for capital operation, investment management and trade business in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Peru, forming a marketing and trade network at home and abroad, and the pace of the company’s international operation has been accelerating.

The company continues to expand and innovate traditional trading business, accelerate the construction of market-oriented marketing system, serve the company’s main business, fully tap the industrial value and financial value of raw materials and products in the whole value chain of the main business by building a financial trading platform and rationally using hedging tools, increase the trade income of enterprises and enhance the ability to control resources through trade.

(9) Talent team

After years of professional production accumulation, we have cultivated a team of industrial workers who cover all sectors and products of non-ferrous metals, have rich production experience and operational skills, and love their jobs and are dedicated. Forging has trained a group of professionals including geology, surveying, mining, mineral processing, smelting, processing, chemical engineering, futures trading and international and domestic trade expertise; With well-known experts and academic leaders in relevant academic fields in China, a talent echelon construction management system has been established, which includes talent introduction, selection, training, use and dynamic operation of incentive mechanism. By the end of June 2022, the company had 7,456 talents of all kinds, accounting for 50.5% of the total number of employees. Among them, 3,261 professionals (including 1,956 engineers) accounted for 43.7% of the total talents, and 4,195 skilled talents accounted for 56.3% of the total talents. Among professional and technical personnel, there are 40 senior titles, 421 deputy senior titles, 1,241 intermediate titles and 1,463 junior titles; Among skilled personnel, there are 233 senior technicians, 878 technicians, 2211 senior workers, 610 intermediate workers and 263 junior workers. Among all kinds of talents in the company, there are 26 experts who enjoy the special allowance of the State Council, innovative talents in Gansu Province, leading talents in Gansu Province, young innovative talents in Longyuan, and chief experts in Baiyin City, and 55 winners of the nonferrous metals industry, Gansu Province’s "technical experts" and skills awards in nonferrous metals industry.

(X) Corporate culture

Focusing on the characteristics of the company’s strategy and transition, it has enriched the new connotation of the times with "hard struggle" as the core value concept, further studied and refined the company’s core cultural concept, and completed the interpretation of the sub-cultural concepts such as gratitude, contract, ecology, leadership, execution, innovation, competence, safety, quality and customers.