On January 3, Jiangxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Fangda Special Steel Technology Corporation Ltd (Fangda Special Steel) announced that it plans to acquire a 70 percent share in Benxi Manchu Autonomous County-based Chinese iron ore producer Tongda Iron Selected, with the share in question valued at RMB 546 million ($82 million). With this acquisition, Fangda Special Steel aims to increase its production of iron ore concentrate, reduce its production costs and thereby increase its competitiveness.
As of April 2010, Tongda Iron Selected had total estimated reserves of 34.6359 million mt of iron ore, with an average grade of 30.36 percent Fe, while its proven reserves totaled 19.9934 million mt. Tongda Iron Selected has an annual iron ore output of 1.3 million mt of iron ore.