SMM Survey: Temporary Maintenance Increases, Slight Decline in Iron Ore Concentrates Production

According to SMM data, the capacity utilisation rate of domestic mines stood at 58.3% last week, down 1.3 percentage points WoW. The production of iron ore concentrates was 778,000 mt, down 17,000 mt MoM. In addition, the inventory of mine concentrates rose by 95,000 mt, with the current inventory at 285,000 mt.
Last week, the production of iron ore concentrates showed a slight decline. Firstly, some beneficiation plants in east China underwent temporary maintenance, leading to a slight drop in production. Secondly, some mines and beneficiation plants in north-east China reported production cuts due to raw ore supply issues, resulting in an overall decline in production. In terms of sales, the demand for single magnetite concentrates was moderate, with good market transactions. However, the sales of other iron powders such as spiegeleisen were average, and inventories at mines and beneficiation plants began to accumulate. This week, with the completion of plant maintenance, the production of iron ore concentrates is expected to rise slightly.