Yang Siming, president of Jiangsu Province-based Chinese steel producer Nanjing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd (Nanjing Steel), has announced that the company is now looking for opportunities to invest in overseas mines, with the long-term aim of achieving self-sufficiency in iron ore supplies.
As Mr. Yang said, while 60 percent of iron ore consumption in China is satisfied by foreign miners, 90 percent of Nanjing Steel's consumption depends on imported resources. Yang said that, given the high costs of imported raw materials including iron ore and coking coal as well as low steel prices, there is just a small profit margin for Chinese steel mills at present.
Mr. Yang also said that he expected the company's crude steel output to increase from 6.5 million mt in the current year to 8 million mt in 2011, rising by 23 percent year on year. In order to lower its iron ore costs, Nanjing Steel might engage in swap transactions in the near future, Mr. Yang revealed.