Yes, China is very large and in many ways ‘untouched’ and will most likely continue to find its own resources, rather than cause world wide shortages.
China says it may have 10bln tonnes of iron ore reserves in Hebei
Dec 26 (Reuters) — The eastern region of China’s northern Hebei Province may hold iron ore reserves of more than 10 billion tonnes according to exploration work done in the area, reported the official Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
The China Metallurgical Geology Bureau said a total of 3.44 billion tonnes of iron ore has been verified in five mines in the province.
The discovery of the deposits would ease the shortfall in China’s domestic iron ore supplies and contribute to the sustainable development of China’s steel industry, Yan Xueyi, director with the bureau, was quoted as saying.
Spot iron ore prices have recently fallen from three-month highs struck in late November, and some analysts said China, the world’s biggest iron ore consumer, may seek to put pressure on prices to win more favourable terms in annual talks with global miners.
China reported on Friday that iron ore production in November rose 3.5 percent from October even as total crude steel output dropped 8.7 percent. China’s iron ore imports in November rose 12.3 percent from October.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee)
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