At a meeting held lately by China's Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) regarding the exploration and exploitation of iron mines in China, MLR officials disclosed that there has been a significant increase in Chinese domestic iron ore output. Meanwhile, the MLR said, China is building new iron mines with a total annual capacity of 480 million mt. With the commissioning of the new mines, it is expected that there will be a gradual and steady increase in supplies of domestic iron ore.
Meanwhile, on the same day, China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) chairman Luo Bingsheng stated that, with the increase in output of domestic iron ore, the share of iron ore imports in the Chinese market will decrease to a certain extent.
According to some commentators in China, increasing the competitiveness of China's domestic iron ore prices and fostering the growth of local iron mines would help to strengthen China's position in iron ore price talks.
As regards this issue, MLR official Lei Pingxi stated that providing support for domestic iron mines would means relieving them from the heavy pressures they face. "Exploiting costs are at a high level due to the exploitation situation in China, while the tax charges for the mines are still hefty," he said.