The production of iron ore concentrates among miners and beneficiation companies in the northern Chinese cities of Qian’an and Qianxi remained suspended as of February 26 because of the severe restrictions imposed on their operations by local authorities combatting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Mysteel’s latest survey showed on Thursday. On the other hand, miners and concentrates processors in Zunhua city had gradually resumed production from February 22 amid improved virus control there.
Qian’an, Qianxi and Zunhua are county-level cities administered by Tangshan city, the steel hub in North China’s Hebei province.
The survey showed that as of Wednesday, the local governments in Qian’an and Qianxi were still strictly enforcing transportation bans and curbing the operations of all companies including miners – with the exception of those mining companies affiliated with state-owned steel mills.
“They’ll have to wait another week to get through the virus incubation period,” one respondent to the survey said. If no new cases of people infected by the virus emerge within the contagion’s accepted 14-day incubation period, local government measures aimed at controlling the epidemic may be eased.
An official in Qian’an from the mining subsidiary of state-owned steelmaker Shougang Group confirmed that his mine was producing as per normal. However, he confirmed that currently, restrictions in the district have intensified, with some buildings being closed.
On the other hand, in Zunhua local miners and beneficiation plants began preparations to resume work since February 22, with those chiefly employing local workers expected to resume production this weekend as the severity of the outbreak in the city appears to have eased, according to the survey.
The Tangshan government had requested most iron ore miners and individual beneficiation plants in Qian’an, Qianxi and Zunhua to suspend operations starting February 13 as part of enhanced efforts to fight COVID-19. The city government had noted the growing number of COVID-19 cases, though it had already halted all of Tangshan’s small- and medium-sized mining and beneficiation enterprises since early February, as Mysteel Global reported.
Among the three areas, daily concentrates output in Qian’an is the largest at 27,300 MT/day under regular production, followed by Zunhua and Qianxi, each normally producing 18,200 MT/d and 7,600 MT/d. The three account for about 70% of Tangshan’s total ore concentrates output, as reported.
Over February 13-26 when businesses were ordered suspended, concentrates output in the three regions plunged by 34,900 MT/d, or accounting for 94% of the total decrease in Tangshan’s output, Mysteel’s survey showed. As at February 26, the daily output of iron ore concentrates in Tangshan declined by around 37,100 MT/day or by nearly 50% of normal levels to 37,200 MT/d.
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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