SHANGHAI, Jun 15 (SMM) — A water inrush accident occurred at the Dahongcai iron ore mine in Daixian County, Shanxi Province on June 10, leaving 13 people trapped, according to preliminary estimate. The mine produces 40,000-50,000 mt of iron ore concentrates per month and has its own pellet plant that has been idled for a long time. The mine produces iron ore concentrates mainly for sale.
According to SMM survey, all underground mining activities in Daixian County have been stopped, while dressing plants remain under normal production. The transportation of iron ore concentrates has also been suspended. Steel mills in Shanxi have suspended procurement from Daixian County out of concerns that delivery will be delayed if the impact of the accident deepens.
SMM sees no possibility for the mine to resume production this year due to the severity of the accident. Another mine in Heilongjiang province, which also reported water inrush accident in 2019, has not resumed production ever since. The immediate impact of the accident will mainly depend on the number of casualties. If the casualties are severe, the impact will be similar to that of a gold mine accident in Shandong at the beginning of the year, which led to stoppage of mining activities and long period of strict safety checks. Even if casualties are relatively small, chances are small that mines will resume production before the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Mines may be able to resume production one after another after the CPC 100th anniversary if the casualties are relatively small. However, mines in Dai County will still face strict safety inspections, which will result in a drop in local operating rate.
Iron ore mines in Xinzhou City are mainly distributed in Dai County. There are also iron ore mines in Fanzhi County, Wutai County and Yuanping County.
The Shanxi Security Office issued the "Emergency Notice on Strengthening Work Safety in Non-coal Mines in Shanxi” on the morning of June 11, requiring all non-coal underground mines in the province to immediately stop production and construction for rectification. Explosives supply has been suspended in other areas, and underground mines are expected to suspend production soon. According to SMM statistics, open-pit mining accounts for just 33% of mine capacity in Shanxi, and most of them are state-owned mines. Production of other mines will most likely be affected by the accident.
The followings are the survey results:
Mine A: It is a large state-owned mine in Daixian County. It was notified that underground mining would stop while open-pit mine was operating normally.
Mine B: It is located near the Dahongcai iron ore mine and is the largest private mine in Daixian County. It halted mining on June 11 and has not received notice regarding the resumption time. The mine expects that production in the entire city will be suspended for at least one month.
Mine C: It is located in south Linfen and said the supply of explosives has been stopped. Mines in Linfen are mostly underground mines, and are thus affected greatly.
Steel Plant A: It plans to increase purchase from Tangshan out of concerns that the mine accident will cause delivery delays.
