On January 6, Shandong Province-based Chinese company Shandong Hongda Mining Co., Ltd. (Shandong Hongda Mining) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries Shandong Dongping Hongda Mining Industry Co., Ltd (Dongping Hongda Mining) and Weifang Wanbao Mining Industry Co., Ltd (Weifang Wanbao Mining) have been required by local work safety authorities to halt underground mining work for production safety inspections, following a mining accident which occurred in Shandong Province.
Meanwhile, Shandong Hongda Mining stated that the production halt will likely result in a reduction of 216,700 mt in iron ore output per month.