Zijin Copper: The Gen Z Female Copper Smelting Team

"In an industry where quite a few women are the 'first-in-command' at production plants, we at Zijin Copper are also taking steps to nurture our own team of female metallurgical experts", said Lin Kehuan, Deputy General Manager of the smelter subsidiary of Zijin Mining, based in Fujian, China.

Duan Sujie is a new member of Zijin Copper's dynamic team. She joined the company upon graduating in Metallurgical Engineering from the Kunming University of Science and Technology in 2022.

Around that time, Zijin Copper initiated the New Graduates Copper Smelting Program, designed to help new university hires gain hands-on experience and speed up their professional growth. Duan, along with six other Gen Z female colleagues, signed up for the program.

"During my university years, I interned at other smelting companies, but none provided working conditions as favorable as those at Zijin Copper", said Duan Sujie, "Copper is a metal critical to saving energy and lowering carbon emissions, and I want to contribute my fair share to environmental protection through participation in the program".

Deputy GM Lin Kehuan highlighted the tougher working conditions associated with positions in copper smelting compared with other roles in the broader copper metallurgical process. She noted that the intense nature of work in the smelting plant poses a significant challenge, even for male employees. However, Zijin Copper's management believes in providing equal opportunities to all, and they encourage young women to seize the opportunity and make a meaningful impact.

Lyv Xiyue working beside the smelting furnace

Lyv Xiyue, an only child who grew up in the city, is another young female member of the program. She believes that women can do anything that men can do. With such determination, she signed up for the program and took on the job of copper smelting.

One day, when the baghouse dust collector malfunctioned and required manual ash removal, Lyv and her colleagues responded swiftly. She headed to the site and started shoveling ash until the collection bag at her feet was filled. By then, she was already drenched with sweat and covered in dust.

"Sometimes the job is physically demanding," Lyu admitted. "But a happy late-night meal together with my colleagues will wipe away my fatigue. It's just what we young folks do nowadays", she added with a bright smile.

Liu Wanmin at the central control room

Zijin Copper is recognized as a smart manufacturing demonstration project by the government of Fujian Province. As more and more smart technologies are used, copper smelting is now an intelligent endeavor that extends beyond mere manual labor.

In the central control room, Liu Wanmin and her female colleagues have also delivered excellent performance.

"The feeding process, where raw materials are fed into the smelting system, is managed mainly in the control room, with absolutely no room for error", said Liu. The task involves more than 20 inter-connected steps. With guidance from her mentor, she gradually became comfortable with every single step. However, when she conducted the feeding operation on her own for the first time, she still felt nervous, even though she had memorized all the procedures and parameters and rehearsed many times the night before.

"The New Graduates Copper Smelting Program is an innovative initiative that encourages young talent to learn and grow in frontline roles", said Deputy GM Lin Kehuan. She added that many members of the program are now capable of taking on key responsibilities independently, without the help of their mentors.

Translator:Jian Reviser: Lin xindi Editor-in-Chief: Wang Jie