China speeds up domestic iron ore exploration

SteelOrbis Shanghai Due to high prices of import iron ore, Chinese government has decided to explore major mines in the country in order to reduce domestic mills' dependence on foreign ore. As a last example, the government has decided to explore the Tadong mine in Jilin province. This mine is one of the major iron ore production bases in China. The iron ore reserve of the mine is currently at 170 million metric tons. Now the government is looking for ways to mine 140 million metric tons more iron ore. Calculated with the current price level, the total value of the ore at the mine will be around RMB 100-200 billion ($12.5-25 billion). Jilin province based Tonghua Steel is expected to benefit from the extraction at the mine.