[ad_1]
BEIJING: China's demand for high-quality iron ore and ore pellets is expected to accelerate in 2020 as a result of Beijing's efforts to move dozens of steel mills to coastal areas to end the smog that industrial cities.
Offshoring of factories on the coast, with stricter environmental requirements, means that up to 20% of China's annual ore demand exceeding one billion tonnes will pass from lower to higher grade ores, according to industry sources and Reuters analysis official statistics of import and production.
Iron and steel industry officials believe that shifts in demand in the major ore market will result in lower purchases of low-grade supplies and increased demand for higher-quality pelletized ore. could have significant consequences for Australian ore exporters.
"Iron ore producers who can sell pellets in China will be better placed than those who do not," said Ian Roper, general manager of Shanghai Metals Market, a Chinese company specializing in the study the metals market, "specialized suppliers (of lower quality) facing the greatest challenge in the medium and long term. "
In Brazil, Vale, the largest mining company in the world, is also the leading producer of pellets and pellets. LKAB in Sweden and the Swiss company Ferrexpo are the second and third largest producers of pellets.
Vale declined to comment, but told Reuters its call for quarterly results of August 1, according to which the production of pellets would be 45 million tons for 2019, against 55 million tons in 2018 due to interruptions of some Brazilian activities .
During a four-year campaign against pollution and overcapacity in heavy industry, China has closed 700 small steel mills with a capacity of 140 million tons of steel deemed inferior to standards, as well as 150 million tons of inefficient capacity in large companies.
The remaining plants will have to further reduce their emissions, and those in the smog-exposed eastern rust belt will have to be moved to designated steel yards along the coast.
[ad_2]
Source link