The front gate of Juxin Mining Co. It remains shuttered after its chairman, Zhang Zhixiong, was sent to prison in 2018 on a 25-year sentence accused of leading a "gang-like" organization.
LULIANG, China — The meteoric rise of aluminum executive Zhang Zhixiong transformed his rural Chinese hamlet into a lucrative mining community. But his fall from grace was even more dramatic.
In March 2018, he and 10 others were sentenced to harsh prison terms for supposedly forming a criminal organization and illegal mining, among other crimes. Zhang, chairman of Juxin Mining Co., was accused of being a crime boss and received a 25-year prison sentence. He denies the charges.