[SMM survey] Supervision and inspection efforts intensified, with a significant decline in iron ore concentrates production

According to the latest data from SMM, the capacity utilisation rate of domestic mines was 54.5% last week, down 4.7 percentage points from the previous week. The production of iron ore concentrates was 728,000 mt, a decrease of 62,000 mt WoW. Sales volume was 633,000 mt, a decrease of 137,000 mt WoW. The inventory of iron ore concentrates at mines increased by 95,000 mt, with the total inventory now at 375,000 mt.

The production of iron ore concentrates declined significantly last week, with the reduction mainly concentrated in North China and south-west China. In a certain area of North China, due to inspections by a higher-level safety supervision team, local open-pit iron mines faced short-term production suspensions for inspections, expected to last until mid-June. A large state-owned pellet plant in the area will commence production suspension for maintenance in mid-to-late June, scheduled to end in early July. In south-west China, production at mines and beneficiation plants has been somewhat affected by recent anti-corruption inspections. However, as the impact of previous factors gradually diminishes, it is expected that mines will resume normal production one after another, and the production of iron ore concentrates will gradually rebound.