Chinese mining company Zijin Mining Group [HKG:2899; SHA:601899] is working with several banks to raise USD 2bn-USD 3bn by issuing shares and convertible bonds, according to two market participants.

The Chinese gold and copper miner met European investors earlier this month, according to one of the participants.

A third participant said it is “not an insane assumption” for Zijin Mining to be working on a deal, adding that the transaction may need a third bank.

The company is rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s and BB+ by Fitch.

For now, it is Citic-CLSA and Morgan Stanley helping Zijin on the deal, said the third participant.

The third participant added that the two banks are arranging non-deal roadshows for the company, which started last week and will carry on next week.

There are potential ESG (environment, social, and governance) issues with the company that most major US banks will want to steer clear of, noted a fourth participant.

It is unclear how the breakdown between equity and CB will be structured in the combo deal, the first participant said.

Driven by rises in commodity and metal prices, Zijin Mining’s shares are hovering around record highs, closing 0.3% lower at HKD 18 each on Tuesday (28 May) in Hong Kong, up over 40% so far this year.

In March, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s reported that while Zijin Mining still has an appetite for acquisitions of good quality metals assets, it will likely exercise more discipline, given its financial policies and geopolitical risks.

“We anticipate annual spending of RMB 5 billion (USD 690m) on acquisitions over the next two years, compared with the high of RMB12 billion in 2022,” S&P reported.

On 26 April, Anglo American [LON:AAL] rejected the GBP 25bn takeover proposal from BHP Group [ASX:BHP, NYSE:BHP], claiming it was opportunistic and failed to fairly value its assets, as reported.

Possible bidders for Anglo American, include Rio Tinto [ASX:RIO], Glencore [LON:GLEN], and Barrick Gold [NYSE:GOLD], while parts of Anglo’s business would be of interest to Vale [BVMF:VALE3], Vedanta Resources [NSE:VEDL], or a Chinese group such as Zijin [SHA:601899], as previously reported.

Morgan Stanley did not respond to a request for comment. Citic-CLSA declined to comment. Zijin Mining did not respond to phone calls and emailed requests for comment.