The Executive Team Led by Chairman Wang Jianhua Paid a Working Visit to LXML Sepon Mine
From July 29 to 31, Wang Jianhua, Chairman of Chifeng Gold, along with Lydia Yang, Executive Director and CEO of Chifeng Gold, and Mario Wong, Vice President and CFO of Chifeng Gold, paid a working visit to LXML Sepon Mine. They comprehensively reviewed the production operations, resource exploration, and progress of technical upgrading projects. Gao Bo, Executive Director and Vice President of Chifeng Gold and President of LXML; Jeremy Davidson, General Manager of LXML; Zhou Xinbing, Vice President of Chifeng Gold and Deputy General Manager of LXML; Michael Stott, Deputy General Manager Operations; Andrew Brown, Deputy General Manager Maintenance; Zhao Guanghui, Deputy General Manager Exploration; and the core management team of the Sepon Mine accompanied the delegation throughout the visit.
On the morning of July 29, Wang Jianhua and his team visited the processing plant to inspect the implementation of technical upgrading projects, including the installation of flotation columns and semi-industrial decarbonization trials, while gaining a detailed understanding of the plant’s operational status. Devy Dyson, the Processing Plant Manager, and Huang Guozhi, Research Department Manager, accompanied the inspection and provided reports. The flotation column and decarbonization projects, as key technical upgrades for the processing plant this year, aim to improve concentrate quality, reduce harmful impurities, and lower sulfuric acid consumption by coordinating with regrinding mills, thereby significantly reducing subsequent processing costs. The flotation column project has now been successfully commissioned and is running stably, with decarbonization trials also progressing smoothly.
In the afternoon of July 29, Wang Jianhua and his delegation attended the Sepon Mine’s mid-2025 work review meeting. During the meeting, General Manager Jeremy Davidson delivered a comprehensive report on the production and financial performance for the first half of the year, as well as the full-year forecast for 2025. Michael Stott provided an update on resource growth progress; Huang Guozhi reported on the advancement of the technical upgrades of the processing plant; Andrew Brown presented the Sepon maintenance plan; and finally, Zhou Xinbing reported on the supply chain work in the first half of 2025.
On July 30, Wang Jianhua and his team participated in an exploration seminar held at the Sepon Mine. The meeting brought together several global geological exploration experts for in-depth exchanges and strategic discussions on exploration work at Sepon. Gao Bo, on behalf of LXML, delivered a welcome speech, expressing gratitude to the visiting experts and the Group’s leadership. He emphasized that the experts’ professional advice provided crucial support for formulating a scientific exploration strategy for Sepon, and the Chairman’s visit in person fully demonstrated the Group’s high regard for exploration work, greatly boosting the team morale. In recent years, Sepon has consistently adhered to the principle of "balancing mining and exploration, with exploration taking precedence," continuously increasing exploration investment while strictly controlling costs. Exploration workloads rose by 40% year-on-year in 2024 and are expected to increase by nearly 70% in 2025. Preliminary exploration results have been achieved, marking solid progress in resource security and injecting new momentum into Chifeng Gold’s global influence and the high-quality development of LXML. Finally, he hoped the experts would continue to contribute insights and expertise to further empower Sepon’s exploration efforts.
Then, CEO Lydia Yang delivered a speech. She looked back on the development journey of the Sepon Mine—from its initial discovery, through multiple transfers, until its acquisition by Chifeng Gold in 2018, marking a new chapter. Back then, the Sepon Mine was facing the dilemma of resource depletion and imminent closure. However, with the strong support of the Group and the relentless efforts of the Sepon team, the mine has undergone transformative changes over the past seven years. On the occasion of Sepon’s 20th anniversary of operation in 2023, we boldly estimated that the mine could continue operating for at least another 20 years. The Group and the Sepon team have always firmly believed that there remains great potential for discovering major deposits in this land. Since taking over, Chifeng Gold has consistently increased investment in resource growth and exploration. As Gao Bo stated, regardless of the company’s stage of development, exploration has always been placed at the core of its strategy. Today, the resource prospects of the Sepon Mine have entered a new phase of development. Finally, she expressed sincere gratitude to all the experts present for their insights.
In his speech, Chairman Wang Jianhua stated that Chifeng Gold, as an international mining company listed on both the A-share and H-share markets and experiencing sustained rapid growth, has remained firmly optimistic about the potential and value of the Sepon Mine since its successful acquisition in 2018. He emphasized that the Sepon Mine holds immense significance for the Lao government, local communities, and all stakeholders. Despite facing the challenge of "depleting resources and impending closure" at the time of acquisition, the company never wavered in its confidence in Sepon’s development. He encouraged the Sepon team to stay resolute in their belief and rely on scientific methods to achieve the goal of "exploring every inch of Sepon’s land." In recent years, Sepon has repeatedly invited globally renowned experts to contribute ideas and increased exploration investment, transforming the mine into the largest gold enterprise in Laos. He expressed special thanks and respect to the attending experts, Exploration Deputy General Manager Zhao Guanghui, and the entire exploration team, as it was their unwavering focus on "discovering resources and expanding reserves" that led to today’s achievements. He stressed that these professionals were key contributors to the current phase of success, and their expert advice has clarified the direction for Sepon’s ongoing exploration. Their contributions will be long remembered by the Lao government, communities, and all stakeholders.
The meeting then proceeded to the technical discussion session. The participating experts conducted a detailed analysis of the exploration prospects in key areas within the mining rights, exchanged experiences with the Sepon team, and generally expressed optimism about Sepon’s future resource potential. The experts unanimously agreed that the Sepon Mine leads the industry in both the scale and efficiency of exploration investment. Notably, in the southern exploration area SND, the entire process—from greenfield project to pre-feasibility study—was completed in just 14 months, whereas the industry average typically takes 2 to 3 years. Additionally, the unit cost of exploration in the SND area was extremely low, highlighting the high efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Sepon’s exploration work.
At the conclusion of the seminar, Chairman Wang Jianhua delivered closing remarks. He pointed out that, as the Group’s most important subsidiary, the development of the Sepon Mine is closely tied to the interests of the Lao government, local communities, and all stakeholders. The creation and legacy of the mine are not merely industrial endeavors but also a responsibility that must be actively upheld at all times. He expressed special gratitude to the experts for their long-term attention and support for Sepon’s development, as it was their persistence and trust that turned many of Sepon’s former "impossibilities" into today’s "possibilities." Wang Jianhua candidly acknowledged that since the acquisition, the company has been acutely aware of the challenges—complex resource distribution, difficult ore processing, and limited mine life. Over the past seven years, while maintaining production, the Sepon Mine has persistently advanced exploration and worked to maintain community relations, navigating an extremely difficult period. Yet Chifeng Gold has always believed in Sepon’s vast potential and continuously strengthened exploration investment to fully unlock the land’s possibilities.
Chairman Wang Jianhua solemnly pledged to further increase investment in Sepon’s exploration plans and resolutely implement the experts’ recommendations. He stated that this was not just a promise but also a reflection of the Group’s unwavering support and high regard for Sepon’s exploration work. He hoped the experts would convey this confidence to frontline employees and managers, assuring them that the Group would fully provide the resources needed by the exploration team to ensure the timely completion of new drilling targets. Moving forward, the Sepon Mine will comprehensively advance exploration in three key directions as advised by the experts: "depth, periphery, and margins." First, extending deeper to meet current production needs; second, expanding the breadth of the mining area to secure future resource growth; and third, tapping into the potential of existing mining zones to maximize the utilization of known resources. He emphasized that commitments must be honored, not dismissed as empty words. In closing, Chairman Wang encouraged the exploration team to remain focused and passionate, push efficiency to its limits, and meet challenges with even greater courage and exploration spirit, living up to the experts’ expectations and ushering in a new era of resource transformation for Sepon.