Danish pension companies criticised for investments in Chinese gold producer that stayed silent about mine explosion

PKA Pension and PFA Pension each own around 25 million kroner’s worth of shares in co-owners of the mine where 22 workers remain trapped underground ten days after incident

PKA Pension and PFA Pension are among a number of Danish pension companies that has invested in the co-owners of a Chinese gold mine where 22 workers have been trapped for a week, reports Danwatch.

The workers have been trapped in the Hushan mine near the city of Qixia in the Shandong province of eastern China since January 10, when an explosion ripped through the mine, blocking the entrance and destroying most of the coms.

The owners of the mine were cautious to announce the incident at first, delaying a rescue mission by at least 30 hours. The workers remain trapped underground.

Serious consideration
PKA Pension has invested a “double-digit million amount” believed to be around 25 million kroner in the gold producer Zhaojin Mining, which notes in its latest financial report that the mine is owned by an associate of its subsidiary.

Meanwhile, another Danish company, PFA Pension, owns shares in Fosun International, a Chinese conglomerate that partly owns Zhaojin Mining, which are also believed to be worth around 25 million kroner.

PKA Pension regards the matter “with great seriousness” and might now sell its shares in Zhaojin Mining. 

“We will look into whether we should continue to invest in the company,” it noted. “When such an accident can be allowed to happen, then something is not right, and we have to look at whether the company has been good enough at ensuring the safety of the miners.”

Safety standards questioned
The criticism has not stopped with Zhaojin Mining, as PKA Pension and PFA Pension have also been under the cosh.

The recent Hushan explosion is one of just several incidents to rock the Chinese mining sector in recent years, and many are questioning whether safety standards are properly adhered to in the pursuit of profits. 

In the last year, Danwatch was able to document that 53 miners have died in three separate incidents in China: 23 due to carbon monoxide poisoning, 16 workers in a fire, and 14 in an explosion.

 




  • Becoming a stranger in your own country

    Becoming a stranger in your own country

    Many stories are heard about internationals moving to Denmark for the first time. They face hardships when finding a job, a place to live, or a sense of belonging. But what about Danes coming back home? Holding Danish citizenship doesn’t mean your path home will be smoother. To shed light on what returning Danes are facing, Michael Bach Petersen, Secretary General of Danes Worldwide, unpacks the reality behind moving back

  • EU Foreign Ministers meet in Denmark to strategize a forced Russia-Ukraine peace deal

    EU Foreign Ministers meet in Denmark to strategize a forced Russia-Ukraine peace deal

    Foreign ministers from 11 European countries convened on the Danish island of Bornholm on April 28-29 to discuss Nordic-Baltic security, enhanced Russian sanctions, and a way forward for the fraught peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow

  • How small cubes spark great green opportunities: a Chinese engineer’s entrepreneurial journey in Denmark

    How small cubes spark great green opportunities: a Chinese engineer’s entrepreneurial journey in Denmark

    Hao Yin, CEO of a high-tech start-up TEGnology, shares how he transformed a niche patent into marketable products as an engineer-turned-businessman, after navigating early setbacks. “We can’t just wait for ‘groundbreaking innovations’ and risk missing the market window,” he says. “The key is maximising the potential of existing technologies in the right contexts.”

  • Gangs of Copenhagen

    Gangs of Copenhagen

    While Copenhagen is rated one of the safest cities in the world year after year, it is no stranger to organized crime, which often springs from highly professional syndicates operating from the shadows of the capital. These are the most important criminal groups active in the city

  • “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    Carsten Norton is the author of several books about crime and gangs in Denmark, a journalist, and a crime specialist for Danish media such as TV 2 and Ekstra Bladet.

  • Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    For 40 years, there has been a ban on nuclear power in Denmark. This may change after all right-wing parties in the Danish Parliament have expressed a desire to remove the ban.

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.