Open-pit Mine Capacity in Hebei to Fall 8-13 per cent by 2018 after Inspections, SMM Forecasts

SHANGHAI, Jul. 7 (SMM) – China’s State Council released a notice Jun. 30 that a 4-month inspection of safety production will be carried out from July to October 2017. In recent days, Hebei government also announced to reinforce environmental protection efforts.

The local government requires closures of 1,170 open-pit mines which hold environmental permits for inspections, and also to complete rehabilitation work before October at 256 open-pit mines, with loss of subject of legal responsibility, after finishing mining.

According to SMM preliminary data, open-pit mine capacity in Hebei is now less than 60 million tonnes, accounting for about 53 per cent of the total.

China Iron Ore to Keep Upward Momentum, SMM Reports

Under those policies, the proportion of open-pit mine capacity in total mine capacity in Hebei is expected to fall to 40-45 per cent by 2018, down by 8-13 per cent, SMM predicts.

The decline in the proportion will mainly come from the closures of mines with exhausting resources, SMM explains.

SMM operating rate survey of iron ore mines in June also finds that parts of open-pit mines express reluctance in asking for longer mining rights due to slim profits.    

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