Hong Kong-based conglomerate CITIC Limited has announced that it registered a non-cash impairment charge of HK$12.5 billion ($1.61 billion) from its Sino Iron project in Western Australia in 2015, primarily due to a sharp decline in the price of iron ore.
However, the company also stated that 2015 was a year in which Sino Iron made significant progress. Production lines three and four entered commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2015, and production and export of magnetite iron ore concentrate from the first four lines continued to ramp up. In addition, construction of the remaining two production lines is nearing completion, with commissioning targeted for the first half of this year. The company is on track to have all six production lines running in the current year. CITIC said that it aims to enhance the performance of the lines, lower production costs and improve efficiencies.