China's Zijin agrees C$5.5bn takeover of Allied Gold's African mines

Zijin Gold International, the overseas gold arm of China's Zijin Mining Group, agreed on 26 January 2026 to acquire Toronto-listed Allied Gold Corporation in an all-cash deal worth approximately C$5.5bn. Zijin offered C$44 a share, a premium of about 27% to Allied's 30-day volume-weighted average share price in the days before the announcement, in what both companies described as a friendly transaction recommended by Allied's board.

Three African mines change hands

Allied Gold's portfolio centres on three assets: the Sadiola mine in Mali, which Allied has called a generational, multi-decade producing asset; a complex of operations in Côte d'Ivoire built around the Bonikro and Agbaou mines; and the Kurmuk project in Ethiopia, a large new development Allied has also described as generational in scale. The deal would make Zijin the operator of gold mines spanning three West and East African jurisdictions in one transaction, extending a run of African acquisitions that already includes Ghana's Akyem mine, bought from Newmont in 2025.

Part of a broader push into Africa

The Allied Gold offer came weeks after Zijin reported first-half 2025 net profit up 54% to RMB23.3bn, underpinned by higher gold and copper prices, and as the group targets gold output of 105 tonnes in 2026, up from 90 tonnes in 2025. Chinese miners have been the most consistently acquisitive buyers of African gold and copper assets over the past two years, and the Allied Gold transaction, if completed, would rank as Zijin's largest deal to date.

What to watch

The transaction still needed to clear competition and foreign-investment approvals in multiple jurisdictions, including Canada, before an outside date in mid-2026, and it was struck at a moment when gold's rally to record prices has made African gold assets more expensive and more contested between Chinese, North American and African-focused acquirers alike.

Analysts noted that the price offered valued Allied Gold well above where its shares had traded before the approach became public, reflecting both the scarcity of large, producing African gold portfolios available for sale and the premium Chinese acquirers have increasingly been willing to pay to secure them quickly.

The transaction also illustrated how quickly a friendly, board-recommended offer can move once both sides agree on valuation, with the roughly four-month gap between the January announcement and its later complications far shorter than the drawn-out timelines typical of contested African mining takeovers.

Sources

• Allied Gold Corporation: Allied Gold to be Acquired by Zijin Gold International in Friendly All-Cash Offer Valued at C$5.5 Billion, 26 Jan 2026
• Zijin Mining Group: Zijin Gold International to Acquire Allied Gold for C$5.5 Billion, Adding Three Large Open-Pit Gold Mines in Africa, 26 Jan 2026
• Mining Technology: Zijin Gold International to acquire Allied Gold for $4.01bn, 27 Jan 2026