[SMM Survey] Regional Production of Iron Ore Concentrates Diverges, While Total Production Remains Basically Flat

According to the latest data from SMM, the capacity utilisation rate of domestic mines fell to 58.4% last week, a slight drop of 0.2 percentage points from the previous week. The production of iron ore concentrates reached 789,000 mt, down 3,000 mt WoW. Sales amounted to 789,000 mt, up 7,000 mt WoW. Meanwhile, the inventory of mine concentrates decreased by 10,000 mt, with the current total inventory standing at 265,000 mt.
The total domestic production of iron ore concentrates remains relatively stable, yet there is a notable divergence across regions. In the Linyi area of Shandong province, a large mine has resumed production, bringing new incremental resources to the local market. In contrast, the production of iron ore concentrates at beneficiation plants in large open-pit mines in Chengde, Hebei province, continues to decline due to insufficient resource reserves and delays in the approval of boundary expansion projects. In the western part of Liaoning province, some mines are in a state of shutdown for rectification due to safety inspection campaigns, affecting local production. Despite these regional variations, the overall domestic production of iron ore concentrates remains stable.
Looking ahead to this week, affected by the Labour Day holiday, some mine and beneficiation plants plan to carry out short-term equipment maintenance, and it is expected that the total domestic production of iron ore concentrates will experience a slight decline.