China will boost the domestic supply of iron ore to a large extent during the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-15) in order to rely less on the three world mining giants - Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton - sources with the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) told the Economic Observer Monday
The percentage of domestic supply will rise to over 45 percent by 2015, the sources said, a substantial rise from the level of 32 percent in 2010.
Ding Gen, senior analyst with custeel.com, said that a 13 percent rise in supply was possible.
Steel has become a pillar industry in China, having contributed a lot to the fast growth of its economy. China consumes an annual average of 700 million tons of crude steel, Rong Gang, chief economist with hbh-steel.com, told the Global Times Monday.
As more than half of China's iron-ore demand is met through imports, primarily from Brazil and Australia, the pricing of iron ore has become a heated issue.
|