[SMM translator] BHP Billiton Olympic Dam doubles its capacity to build new ramps

According to Hebei Daily, recently, Shanghai University and Changli County Dongwen Precise Machine Parts Co., Ltd. jointly completed the first development test of hydrogen-enriched smelting technology of blast furnace with pure hydrogen as blowing gas source in China.

Domestic new secondary aluminium capacity stood at 1.85 million mt in 2021, including 1.17 million mt of secondary aluminium casting alloy, and the total installed capacity amounted to 11.96 million mt, according to SMM statistics.

China's refined zinc output stood at 458,400 mt in February, down 59,200 mt or 11.43% MoM and 2.72% YoY.

China produced 2.95 million mt of aluminium in February (28 days), down 2.35% on the year. The daily output averaged 105,000 mt, up 1,900 mt/day on the month.

Domestic copper cathode output in February stood at 835,700 mt, up 2.1% month-on-month (MoM) and 1.7% year-on-year (YoY).

China’s output of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide in February 2022 stood at 6,094 mt, down 2.5% from a year earlier with ion-absorbed iron separation companies in Sichuang, Jiangus, Guangdong and Guangxi contributing most of the increment, while those in Jiangxi saw output cuts.

As an important anode material for lithium batteries, copper foil is in short supply due to the continuously booming new energy industry, and the conversion margins are at a high level. Many well-known domestic companies have begun to deploy in the copper foil industry.

Currently, the iron ore prices have been rising rapidly in contrary to the background that the supply and demand in the iron ore market has been stable and the port inventory has also been at a high level.

According to the media, the existing capacity, after taking in all the disclosed production expansion projects, has reached 5 million mt, an obvious surpass over the downstream demand by 2025.

On February 18, the National Development and Reform Commission and other 11 central departments jointly issued a notice on a series of policies to promote stable growth of industrial economy.