WEEKLY: Chinese mines’ iron ore output falls to 3-month low

Mysteel: Production of iron ore concentrates among Chinese mining companies dropped significantly during the past week as more mines halted operations to start maintenance, Mysteel’s latest survey showed.
During November 28-December 4, the combined output of iron ore concs among the 186 domestic mining and concentrating enterprises under Mysteel’s tracking dropped for the second straight week by a marked 20,900 tonnes/day or 4.4% on week to touch a three-month low of 453,900 t/d.

During the same period, the capacity utilization rate among these sampled mining companies also slid 2.7 percentage points from the prior week to 58.1%, the survey showed.

The production decrease was observed mainly in the western regions in China where some mining firms slowed or halted operations due to shortages of run-of-mine (ROM) iron ore, Mysteel Global learned.

For example, in the latest survey period, the total output of concs by the eight mining companies in Southwest China that Mysteel tracks averaged 40,500 t/d, significantly lower by 27.3% on week.

Meanwhile, a few large-sized mining enterprises in Northeast China reduced their output as local steelmakers’ buying demand weakened, market sources observed.

Despite the fall in production, mine-side concs inventories stayed stable, as domestic steelmakers became more cautious about replenishing feed materials, Mysteel Global noted.

As of December 4, the total concs stocks held by the same 186 mining companies stood at 751,200 tonnes, slightly higher by 100 tonnes from a week earlier.

More blast furnace (BF) steelmakers halted production last week to kick off annual overhauls, causing their demand for iron ore decline markedly, Mysteel’s other survey showed.

During November 28-December 4, the average capacity utilization rate among the 247 BF steel producers under Mysteel’s tracking dropped for the third straight week by another 0.9 percentage point to reach a three-month low of 87.1%.

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