China: Iron ore concentrates output hits 7-month low, but stocks rebound

• Miners in East China halt production for maintenance works
• Northern miners still observing govt-mandated output curbs

Mysteel Global: Production of iron ore concentrates by Chinese mining companies continued to decrease during the past week due to increased maintenance stoppages and mandated production curbs in some mining regions, Mysteel’s latest survey showed.

The combined daily output of iron ore concentrates among the 186 mining and concentrating enterprises under Mysteel’s regular tracking dropped for the third straight week to touch a seven-month low of 452,000 tonnes (t)/day over 29 August-4 September, down by 16,500 t/d or 3.5% from the previous week.

During the same survey period, the average capacity utilisation rate among these 186 companies also fell by 2.1 percentage points w-o-w to 57.9%, the survey showed. The iron ore concentrate capacity of these sampled mines covers around 63% of the national total.

Iron ore concentrate output in East China dropped significantly, as some leading mining companies in this region halted production to conduct maintenance works, Mysteel Global noted. The daily iron ore concentrate output by the 24 mining firms in East China under Mysteel’s tracking averaged 49,900 t/d during 29 August-4 September, lower by a large 13.7% from the previous week.

Meanwhile, mining firms in North China were still observing the production curbs mandated by local governments as a measure to improve air quality, clipping daily concentrate production by the 54 mining companies Mysteel tracks in this region down by 2.1% w-o-w to 146,800 t/d during the latest survey week.

Despite the decrease in production, the total inventories of iron ore concentrates held by the 186 mining enterprises across the country ended a three-week drop and rebounded to 681,500 t as of 4 September, higher by 5.2% from a week earlier, according to Mysteel’s survey.

The mine-side stocks accumulated mainly in North China, where trading activity for iron ore concentrates declined last week as local steel mills also suspended operations at their blast furnaces and sintering facilities, market sources observed. By 4 September, the total concentrate inventories piled at the 54 mining companies in North China swelled by a significant 28% w-o-w to 82,000 t, Mysteel’s survey showed.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.