China Minmetals Group Wins Bid for the Huahonggou Iron Ore Exploration Right in Benxi City

 On October 13, the Huahonggou Iron Ore exploration right project in Pingshan District, Benxi City, was offered for transfer via tender at the Liaoning Provincial Public Resources Trading Center. Minmetals Mining Holding Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Minmetals Mining) successfully won the bid with a transaction price of 2.355 billion yuan, setting the highest record for the transfer of similar exploration rights in the province.

  The Huahonggou Iron Ore block offered for transfer covers an area of 12.38 square kilometers,with inferred iron ore resources reaching 1.895 billion mtand a burial depth of up to 1,100 meters underground. Unlike conventional listing transfers, this exploration right was transferred through open tender, primarily because the ore body is deeply deposited, and valuable mineral accumulation zones are deeply buried underground, imposing extremely high requirements on the technical and financial strength of the exploration entity. Open tender is more conducive to future mining development.

  The winning bidder, Minmetals Mining, is subordinate to the Fortune Global 500 company China Minmetals Corporation. Established in 1951, the group has accumulated 70 years of valuable experience and successful cases in deep underground mining, ranking among the top domestically and overseas in exploration technology, mine construction, and operation management. Minmetals Mining's successful bid is regarded as a direct reflection of its technological and capital advantages in the field of deep mineral development. Following the Anshan Chentaigou Iron Ore and Yingkou Zhaopingfang Iron Ore projects, this represents another ultra-deep, ultra-large-scale "double ultra" mine invested in and constructed in Liaoning.

  According to relevant enterprise personnel, the project has a total planned investment of 11 billion yuan and a construction period of "3+6" totaling 9 years, comprising 3 years for exploration and 6 years for mine construction. It will adopt domestically leading underground backfill methods, offering advantages such as resource savings, good environmental protection benefits, and high safety, minimizing impact on the surrounding environment to the greatest extent.Exploration work is planned to commence in H1 2026. Upon completion, the mine is expected to annually produce 15 million mt of iron ore (up to 20 million mt at maximum) and 7 million mt of iron ore concentrates, achieving an annual output value of 4.9 billion yuan and contributing 1.2 billion yuan in taxes and profits.

  Personnel from the Benxi Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources stated that the successful transfer of the Huahonggou Iron Ore exploration right will bring significant benefits to Benxi City. The transfer proceeds can be used for infrastructure construction, livelihood improvement, and industrial support, among other areas. The strong employment driving effect is expected to create over 2,000 jobs, including professional technical personnel, a large number of construction workers, engineering technicians, and equipment operators, significantly increasing the regional population scale. This will provide Benxi City with a large number of stable, relatively high-paying jobs and significantly enhance the activity of regional consumer markets such as logistics and transportation, material supply, and catering and accommodation. It is particularly noteworthy that the Huahonggou Iron Ore has high reserves and good grade. Once operational, it will stabilize upstream raw material supply, enhance the competitiveness of the regional steel industry, and form a more market-competitive industrial cluster around the local iron ore-steel smelting-deep processing chain. China Minmetals Mining's deployment at the Huahonggou Iron Ore Mine, as a typical case of central-local cooperation in Benxi City, has not only deepened its collaboration with Benxi in the development of strategic mineral resources but also facilitated the local mining industry's transition toward green and intelligent practices, allowing the people of Benxi to tangibly benefit from the fruits of development.