Lei Pingxi, Chief Engineer of
Metallurgical Mines’ Association of China, delivered a keynote speech
titled China Strategic Iron Ore Reserve and Domestic Mines
Development at
XVII Steel Development Strategy Conference in Shanghai on 10 April
2021.
Highlight
China imported 11.91 billion
tonnes of iron ore in the past 15 years, with the external dependence at
75%.
As China sets the goal to
basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035, the country’s demand
for crude steel would be around 15 billion tonnes in next 15 years,
bringing the shortage of iron ore to 13 billion tonnes.
With the growing crude steel
reservoir, China’s steel scrap industry would see rapid growth, with
around 4.3 billion tonnes of steel scrap recycled in next 15 years.
China’s iron ore supply chain is
fragile, resulting in a huge potential threat to the security of the
country’s economy and industrial system.
The serious shortage of domestic
iron ore supply capacity is the key to the "fragility" of the raw
material supply chain in China’s steel industry.
The situation of concentrated
sources of iron ore imports and a single transportation channel has not
been improved.
The iron ore pricing mechanism
is unreasonable, and the distribution of the industry chain is unfair.
Therefore, it is necessary for
China to set up strategic iron ore reserves: (a) intensify iron ore
resources exploration; (b) promote investment of overseas mines; (c)
organize National Iron Ore Reserve Decision Expert Committee; (d) set
the strategic reserves principal and goals; (e) establish and strictly
implement the strategic reserves projects; (f) establish a financing
mechanism for the strategic reserves and other mechanisms to better
serve the strategic reserves project.
For the development of domestic
iron ore mines, China should speed up the development of domestic iron
ore resources, improve the development enthusiasm, and build large-scale
iron ore bases which are profitable, sustainable and of high quality.
Related
Link: Profile
of XVII Steel Development Strategy Conference
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