[SMM Iron & Steel] China Iron Ore Imports Declined Significantly in May; June May See Growth

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released multiple statements on the 29th, saying that the IRGC Navy continues to “fully control the Strait of Hormuz” and struck and intercepted three “non-compliant” oil tankers hours earlier. The statement said that these tankers “ignored their warnings, continued sailing on unsafe and illegal routes, and have been struck and intercepted.”

This week, Lecong HRC inventory was 994,200 mt, up 24,100 mt WoW, an increase of 2.48%; calendar year YoY +44.72%, lunar year YoY +44.02%.

The 1780mm pickling-tandem cold rolling project of the Tosyali Cold Rolling Complex in Algeria, undertaken by Sinosteel International (EPC), has been successfully put into operation. On July 21, the first pickled coil was produced; on July 27, the first high-grade cold-rolled hard coil was successfully rolled off the line. This marks the official entry of North Africa's first modern cold rolling mill into the trial production phase. Leveraging Chinese technology, speed, and quality, Sinosteel International has overcome geographical and technical challenges to fill the gap in high-end cold-rolled steel production in North Africa, injecting strong momentum into the local steel industry's transformation and upgrading. The 1780mm pickling-five-stand tandem cold rolling combined line, now in operation, is a fully automatic intelligent line integrating pickling and high-precision rolling, capable of flexible production of both pickled coils and cold-rolled hard coils. Its product performance fully meets the stringent standards for automotive sheets and high-end precision manufacturing, with dimensional tolerance precision leading the industry. The entire line adopts a continuous, integrated production model, breaking the efficiency bottleneck of traditional segmented production. The pickling stage precisely removes oxide scale and impurity defects from the hot-rolled strip surface, optimizing the surface quality of the sheets; the five-stand tandem cold rolling stage, through multiple precise reduction passes, significantly enhances steel strength, flatness, and dimensional accuracy, resulting in sheets with smooth surfaces and tight tolerances suitable for high-end industrial manufacturing applications. At the intelligent control level, the line is equipped with world-class control systems, achieving automated unattended production with more stable operation, faster response, and more precise control. The line is also equipped with a complete set of environmental protection treatment systems, making it a benchmark green and intelligent metallurgical line in North Africa.