Ministry of Natural Resources Lunched New Round of Prospecting for Iron Ore

SHANGHAI, Feb 22 (SMM) - In March 2022, China Iron and Steel Association revealed that "the 'Cornerstone Plan' proposal aimed at strengthening resource security has been reported to 4 ministries and commissions including the National Development and Reform Commission. The "Cornerstone Plan" suggest to use 2-3 "five-year plans" to effectively change the source composition of China's iron resources, fundamentally solve the problem of resource shortcomings in the iron and steel industry chain,so as to reduce iron ore Stone foreign dependence.

On January 11, 2023, the National Natural Resources Work Conference held by the Ministry of Natural Resources proposed that a new round of domestic prospecting for strategic minerals should be fully launched around strengthening the domestic exploration and development of important energy mineral resources and increasing reserves and production. According to the National Mineral Resources Planning (2016-2020), a total of 24 minerals have entered the catalogue, including energy minerals such as oil and natural gas, metal minerals such as iron, chromium, and copper, and non-metallic minerals such as phosphorus and potassium salts.

According to industry insiders, the above-mentioned domestic prospecting action by the Ministry of Natural Resources is a continuation of the "Cornerstone Plan” proposed by the China Iron and Steel Association, which aims to increase the self-sufficiency rate of iron elements in the domestic steel industry. This action once again demonstrates that China attaches great importance to ensuring the supply of national strategic resources, and will play a positive role in promoting the development of domestic mineral resources and the contribution rate of iron element in production.

However, this is not something that can be accomplished in a short time as it generally takes about 3 years of construction and development period from mine construction to production. Continuous policy support is needed during this period.