In the morning of September 23rd, 2017, keynote session on the theme of CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2017 was held at Meijing Convention and Exhibition Center of Tianjin. Industry leaders and economists gave speeches concerning the theme “Promoting Mining Prosperity under the Silk Road Spirit”. Mr. Ge Honglin, Chairman, Aluminum Corporation of China, was delivering a speech: New Ideas for the Development of Mining Industry. (Photo: Yu Hongqi Editor: Xu Xiaojing)
Distinguished Minister Cao, Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning!
Firstly, on behalf of Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, I want to congratulate on the successful holding of CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2017. I want to send the sincere greetings to the old and new friends. I also want to thank China Mining Congress and Expo for this opportunity to give a speech and share my views with you.
I remembered I was very lucky to have an opportunity to give a report on Global Mining on behalf of Aluminum Corporation of China Limited in CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2015. At that time, the commodities’ price have dropped to the lowest level since the breakout of international financial crisis seven years ago. The participants at that time look not as happy as you today. Even mining companies with rich capital are faced with debt crisis. In less than two years, the mining industry has recovered, but I thought this recovery is not an intrinsic one, which means it’s not a result of structural reform, but a result of external facors such as market, so it is fragile. I worried that once we see some recovery, some mining companies will become complacent and . People working in mining industry should keep a sober mind.
Based on this, I would like to talk about five opinions in mining:
The first opinion is the internal force of mining development is sustainable innovation.
The development of global mining is not only driven by rich resources, but more driven by the mine prospecting and exploitaiton technology, especially for areas with short resources. Based on the features of China’s aluminium, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited is abandoning the traditional method of producing aluminum oxide using sintering method and mixed combination process and choosing the mineral processing and fusion technology in pipeline, which not only fully used the local aluminium, but promoted the rapid development of downstream industries such as aluminium oxide and electrolytic aluminum.
However, we are also faced with a series of challenges. There is less shallow, large-sized prospective and quality reserves. It’s more difficult and more costly to find mines. The safety and environment standards have been lifted. For example, we have developed the technology for the application of high-sulfur bauxite, but the industrialization and application of this technology is uneconomical. How to make breakthroughs through technological innovation to achieve low-cost and environmental-protection utilizaiton is the common issue we will face.
China has rich aluminium under coal, which needs to be exploited and operated precisely, approved by policies and meet the safety and environment standards. We have limited resources but unlimited creativity. We have many technological problems to overcome. Once they are overcome, it will produce great economic benefits.
I would like to suggest leaders in the mining in dustry we should make more investment in technology when the days are getting better.
The second opinion is that the important condition for mining development is coordination and balance.
Today, we have both experts in the mining field and friends in the financial circle in this high-level forum. I thought it is the nature of aluminium, copper, lead and zinc that brought us together. One idea many friends shared with me in our communicaiton is that the market has to keep stable and the price has to be avoided sharp rise and decline. The reason for this concensus is that many of us have suffered from the sharp change of the market for minerals .No one wants to live an turbulent life. The coordinated development of market is our common wish.
In recent years, Chinese government has always stressed the keynote of making progress which ensuring stability. In my opinion, mining development needs more steady progress. Stability is the main tone, Stability is overall situation. Under the premise of stability, we must make progress in key areas, stabilize the organic unity and promote each other. In practice, Aluminum Corporation of China Limited achieved coordinated and balanced development through structural adjustment. Our company closed the mines with depleted resources and high safety risks, cancel the mines which have been invested for a long term but have not produced output, eliminated outdated production lines and properly dispose zombie companies. At the same time, our company has effectively improved the self-sufficiency ratio of resources and medium and long term security level. Here, I want to call on friends in mining and financial field to join hands and explore to establish the linkage mechanism of mining development and resist the to protect the order of and create a coordinated, fair, healthy and stable environment to benefit the general public and return to the society.
The third opinion is that the social responsibility of mining development is green and environmental protection
Nature endowed us with life and rich resources. Born in nature, we should follow the laws of nature. We can know that from the media some areas suffer from the drying-up of underground water, pollution, ground surface settlement and ground collapse because of the inappropriate exploitation of recources, which has severely impacted the residents’ life and the social stability. The traditional view hold that the mining industry will destroy the nature, so environment pollution is the first word that comes to people’s mind when it comes to the mining development in certain areas. Since this year, Chinese governments of all levels have conducted environment inspection, ecological management and prevention and control of pollution and closed some small, scattered messy or dirty mines and people who violate rules paid the price. I think they are punished because they fail to live up to the expectations of society. It they keeps in mind the environmental protection from design, planning, exploitaiton to reclamation, afforestation, forestation, they will not be shut. They were not be shut because the requirements for them are not strict enough.
For many years, Aluminum Coeporation of China Limited have practiced the concept of green development and advocated green mining development. Before the construciton of Toromocho, we invested 51 million dollars in the construction of water disposal factory, solving the water pullution disrupting the local residents in the past 80 years. We invested 200 million in dislocation. We finished constructing the new city with an area of 1.8 square meters, providing 1050 houses for residents. We actively responded and practiced the Paris Agreement. This June, we lauched carbon reduction activity with partners and set up the first “China carbon reduction festival” for the purpose of leading the whole socirty in reducing carbon and promoting facilities to be implemented in industries and enterprises.
We want to do better in green development and sincerely hope our friends in the mining field can take solid steps to turn the concept of green development into concrete action.
The fourth opinion is that the only way towards mining development is openess and cooperation.
Since reform and opening up over 30 years ago, those industries that open widely have achieved great development and those that open not that widely experienced slow growth. It can be said wider openess, cooperation expansion, mutual benefit and win-win strategy have become our consensus. For many years, Aluminum Coeporation of China have advocated the ideas of openess and cooperation and integrated into “the Belt and Road” and conducted mining cooperation with countries along “the Belt and Road”, kept close contact and exchanges with international mining companies, actively got involved in overseas programs, expanded capacity cooperation, improved the influence of global mining and international management capability.
For example, we cooperated with governments and mining companies of Peru, Guinea and Indonesia overseas and promoted mining development. In China, we developed bauxite, produced aluminium oxide and light and heavy rare earth and alluminium alloy and copper alloy and rare earth used in aeronautics and astronautics, rail transport, new energy, shipping with foreign funded companies and private companies. I thought the international mining field should accelerate the exploitation and widen the cooperation. Aluminum Coeporation of China will also speed up in going global and seek mining cooperation world wide to create win-win situtaion.
The fifth opinion is that the fairness and justice of mining development is the sharing of benefits.
Energy and resources are the common wealth of people. In mining development, we can not just seek our own interests, but to seek common interest and maximize the outcome of cooperation. We should establish the principles of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to make mining’s due contribution to creating a community of shared future for mankind.
As is known to all, Chinese government is fighting poverty. Mining resources concentrated on remote and poor areas. In resource exploitation, we should follow the concept of sharing, combining mining development with poverty alleviation work and create more job opportunities. We will develop the real economy to support the poor. Aluminum Corporation of China will implement “three cherishes”, that is cherish the resources, cherish the country of resources and cherish the people in the resource place. Through technological innovation, advanced technology in exploitaiton, ore dressing, smelting, our company aims to improve the utilization rate of recources as much as possible. We attached great importance to the recycling and reuse of associated minerals.
Our company attached importance to industry chain extension and developing circular economy to meet the principle of local sourcing and local employment and create direct and indirect job opportunities for local people. I think global mining must adhere to the concept of interest sharing and create wealth, increase tax for host country of the resources and share development outcomes with people of host country of the resources to improve the happiness index of people, and return them with the concrete benefits of mining development, to improve the economic, cultural and social development and the well-being of people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
he who travels alone goes fast， but he who travels in company goes far.
China is the second largest economy, playing an increasingly important role for global economy. China’a demand has become the driving force for world mining development. The prosperity of global mining can not be achieved without China. China’s demand is the main force driving world mining development in quite a long term. A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden. Aluminum Coeporation of China Limited hope to conduct friendly coopeation with relevant institutions to promote global mining prosperity and share development opportunities and outcomes.
Thank you!
Source: www.mlr.gov.cn Citation: www.mlr.gov.cn
About CHINA MINING
Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year. As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.
CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2017 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin in September 23-25, 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.
