At the China Mining Congress & Expo 2011 held at November 6 to 8 in Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, a market player has stated that China may implement protective development of coking coal. China-based National Energy Administration is studying and establishing new management method related to rare types of coal and may implement protective development of the special or rare types of coal such as coking coal.
Liu Lianhe, general director of Department of Minerals Exploitation Administration, Ministry of Land and Resources, stated that China has controlled the dominant mineral species and the minerals of overcapacity. Currently, there are six mineral types, whose mining rights have been suspended, including coking coal, tungsten ore, antimony ore, rare earth, fluorite and high-alumina clay.
In the coming five years, China's coking coal demand will keep increasing. In 2015, the total demand of coking coal in China is expected to increase by another 180 million mt. During the given period, the estimated increase for coking coal output in Shanxi Province is just 80 million mt, which indicates that the gap between demand and supply will reach 100 million mt.