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China's gold consumption rose 15.49 percent year on year to 815.89 tonnes in the first three quarters of 2017 due to strong sales of gold bars, new data showed Wednesday.

The Shanghai Gold exchange celebrated its 15th anniversary on Monday.

The exchange started business on Oct 30, 2002 and the last 15 years have been a journey of opening up of China's gold market, the exchange said in a statement.

China's biggest state-run aluminum producer said consumption of the metal is set to increase by 9-10 percent this year on the back of strong downstream demand, and keep growing at a faster rate than the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018.

Major Chinese copper miner Jiangxi Copper Corp is exploring investment opportunities in Central Asia and Africa, the company's chairman was quoted as saying in media reports on Thursday.

Source: www.chinamining.org     Citation: Global Times        Date: Oct.10, 2017

The U.S. government, which has been heavily reliant on rare-earth imports from China, is reportedly seeking a potential rare-earth partnership with Afghanistan, but industry sources told the Global Times on Monday that such a deal is unlikely to affect the Sino-U.S. rare-earth trade, not at least in the short term.

"But the new move [of the U.S. turning to Afghanistan for rare-earth trade cooperation] signals that the U.S. has concerns about the security of its rare-earth supplies, the majority of which come from China," Wu Chenhui, a Beijing-based rare-earth analyst noted.

According to a Reuters report on September 22, U.S. President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani backed letting U.S. companies develop Afghanistan's reserves of rare-earth minerals.

Data from the U.S. Geological Survey posted at minerals.usgs.gov in January showed that the U.S. imported about $120 million worth of rare-earth compounds and metals in 2016, down from $160 million a year earlier.

The website of U.S.-based Diplomat magazine noted on August 29 that in 2016, more than 70 percent of U.S. rare-earth imports were from China.

An executive at Gansu Rare Earth New Material Co surnamed Yang said that so far her company's rare-earth exports to the U.S. had not displayed any significant changes. But she declined to give details such as the volume of rare-earth exports to the U.S. in the past few years.

"Nowadays rare earths are widely used for various applications. Most domestic rare-earth companies depend more on the domestic market than on overseas demand," Yang told the Global Times on Monday.

Yang questioned whether such a U.S.-Afghanistan deal would affect Chinese companies' rare-earth exports to the U.S. greatly.

"Even if the U.S. government wants to open a mine in Afghanistan, whether it can actually succeed still remains a question. There are cases where U.S. companies failed to properly run rare-earth mines in the past," she noted.

Around mid-June in 2015, U.S.-based Molycorp, which owned the country's major domestic rare-earth supply source Mountain Pass mine, filed for bankruptcy, according to media reports.

An executive at Baotou Steel Rare Earth International Trade Co told the Global Times on Monday that the company's rare-earth exports to the U.S. are going on as usual, but she declined to disclose more information.

China Rare Earth Co didn't reply to an interview request as of press time, and Jiangxi Tungsten Holding Group Co could not be reached for comment.

Analyst Wu agreed with Yang that a possible U.S. deal with Afghanistan wouldn't affect domestic companies in the foreseeable future. "It might take a decade for a mine to start production, so the influence, if there's any, will be very slow," he told the Global Times on Monday.

He also noted that demand is rising for China's rare-earth products from the domestic and overseas markets, which will help offset any negative influence from a U.S.-Afghan deal.

China exported 34,757 tons of rare earths in the first eight months this year, up 13 percent year-on-year, customs data showed in September.

"The growth rate might slow down a bit in about three years, as a result of the U.S. reducing dependence on Chinese products," Wu noted.

He also stressed that the U.S. government's move sends a signal that the U.S. government is concerned about letting China having a stranglehold on its rare-earth supplies, which are vital to modern defense industries like tanks and nuclear reactors.

"It's understandable that the U.S. wants to multiply its rare-earth import sources, but I don't think it can find a total substitute for China, which supplies almost 90 percent of the world's rare earths right now," Wu said.

He added that the Chinese government has also called for exports of high added-value products to replace exports of domestic resources. Therefore, the reported move by the U.S. "might not be a bad thing at all," he noted.

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 was 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.

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Xinhua        Date: Sept.28, 2017

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) on Wednesday announced to introduce its first ferrous metal product.

It will roll out in November of this year, subject to market readiness.

The iron ore futures, TSI Iron Ore Fines 62 percent Fe CFR China Futures, will be cash-settled in U.S. dollars with both day trading and after-hours trading.

It is expected to complement the HKEX's existing precious and base metals products.

With the benefits of electronic trading, the planned iron ore futures will provide a transparent and efficient risk management and investment tool for physical and financial users who want to hedge their price risk or gain exposure in iron ore, said Li Gang, HKEX's co-head of market development.

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 was 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.

The world's first deep sea mining vessel is being built by a Chinese shipping firm, and is expected be put into use in 2018.

The vessel is being made by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding (FMS) affiliated with Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group, and is designed to work at a depth of 2,500 meters.

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: CGTN        Date: Sept.9, 2017

The Belt and Road Initiative will see China's steel output maintain its current high levels, with production set to peak by the middle of next decade, according to BHP Billiton, the world's biggest steel and mining company.