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China`s Jan-Feb coal output dips despite push to raise supplies

Source: www.chinamining.org         Citation: Reuters      Date: March 14, 2017

China`s coal output fell 1.7 percent in the first two months of the year, even after Beijing urged miners to ramp up output to replenish supplies during the cold winter months, reversing tough measures to cut the country`s reliance on fossil fuels.

Miners produced 506.78 million tonnes of coal in January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics said. That compares with 513.5 million tonnes in the first two months of 2016 and 546.5 million tonnes in 2015. 

The Statistics Bureau provided information for January and February together to smooth the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, and did not give a separate monthly breakdown. 

In November, the government lifted a limit on the number of days thermal coal miners can operate each year, in a bid to meet surging demand from utilities during the months-long winter heating season. 

Major coal miners have since been pushing for Beijing to reinstate the limits on output after the key winter heating season due to weakening demand and growing supply. 

The country`s state planner signaled last week that it will not introduce such drastic measures this year, chastened by last year`s wild markets. 

Even so, Beijing continues to crack down on the country`s inefficient and ageing excess mining capacity. The world`s top coal consumer has vowed to cut more than 150 million tonnes of excess capacity this year.

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 China in September23-25, 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Northern provinces reducing dependence on coal, steel

Source: www.chinamining.org     Citation: Global Times         Date: March 09, 2017

Officials from two provinces that heavily depend on steel and coal production said Tuesday that they will reduce their reliance for local economic development on these two sectors, which are plagued by overcapacity.

There have been positive signs of economic restructuring in the provinces, said deputies to the 12th National People`s Congress from North China`s Hebei and Shanxi provinces. 

The officials said they will continue to bring advanced industries while tackling overcapacity. 

Steel output accounted for about 25.5 percent in the total industrial output of Hebei, which will decline to about 25 percent, said Zhao Kezhi, secretary of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. The output of advanced industries grew 13 percent year-on-year last year, faster than that of the steel industry. 

Meanwhile, machinery and equipment has become a new pillar industry in Hebei, replacing the traditional steel industry, he said. 

Also on Tuesday, Shanxi claimed that it will step up efforts to let other industries grow first, as the coal industry has been the major sector in the province for decades. In total, 414.4 billion yuan ($60 billion) will be invested in 986 major projects including new materials, information and technology, food, textiles and manufacturing, noted Luo Huining, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the CPC, according to China Daily. 

This year is crucial for tackling the capacity glut, said the country`s economic planner. However, to balance supply and demand, there is no need to restrict capacity on a large scale in 2017, and the central government will not impose uniform demands on provincial governments, according to a post on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Tuesday. 

Conditions among coal miners differ, and a one-size-fits-all approach may not drive obsolete capacity out but instead may cause supply shortages, former NDRC vice chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang, said at a meeting during the two sessions on Tuesday. 

In earlier 2016, authorities in Shanxi ordered local coal miners to cut operation by 54 days - down from 330 to 276 days a year. 

Following that move, coal output in the first three quarters of 2016 fell by 10.5 percent year-on-year to 2.46 billion metric tons.

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 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China will not force big coal output cuts if prices reasonable - NDRC

Source: www.chinamining.org         Citation: Reuters      Date: March 07, 2017

China will not force coal mines  to cut output on a large scale if prices remain within a  reasonable range, the country`s state economic planner said on Tuesday, the latest comments from the government on its efforts  to tackle excess supplies and smog.

In a statement, the National Development and Reform Commission said provincial governments and relevant agencies will decide whether to implement cutbacks at inefficient mines. 

It did not say what price range it would consider reasonable, but said it expects prices to fall steadily. 

The release comes as coal futures prices have surged to their highest in months amid speculation the government would reinstate the limit on the number of days mines can operate to 276 in 2017. 

In November, the government suspended that policy to avert a  winter heating crisis after the measure caused thermal coal supplies to tighten and prices to spike.  

The statement on Tuesday did not refer to a daily limit.

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 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China builds largest offshore drilling rig

Source: www.chinamining.org     Citation: Global Times         Date: March 6, 2017

China has broken the world record again by building the largest offshore ultra-deep water drilling platform, which is also able to drill to the deepest depths of the sea, China Central Television reported. 

The semi-submersible drilling platform named Blue Whale 1 was manufactured by Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Limited (CIMC Raffles). It weighs 42,000 tons with a deck as large as a standard soccer field. 

At a height of 118 meters, equal to a 37-story building, the platform cost $700 million. 

The platform has a maximum operating depth of 3,658 meters and a maximum drilling depth of 15,240 meters respectively, the greatest operating and drilling depth in the world. It can operate in deep-sea operations across the world, CIMC Raffles says on its website. Its electric cable has a pull extension length of 1.2 million meters. 

It is the first "turn-key project," which is completed and can be sold to any buyer, by a Chinese shipbuilder in the ultra-deep water field. 

Blue Whale 1 was named and delivered to its project owner based in Yantai, a port city of East China`s Shandong Province on February 13. 

The platform will be jointly operated by Blue Whale and CNPC Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd for ocean energy exploration according to a previously signed service agreement between the two sides.

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 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Coal`s decline looking like trend

Source: www.chinamining.org     Citation: China Daily         Date: March 1, 2017

Coal is loaded for railway transportation in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

The decline of China`s coal usage may have become a long-term trend, according to experts, after official data on Tuesday showed that coal burning in 2016 dropped for the third consecutive year.

Coal consumption, a major source for carbon dioxide emissions, dropped by 4.7 percent in 2016, the biggest year-on-year decline since 2014, according to the annual Statistical Communique on Economic and Social Development, released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Xie Zhenhua, China`s special representative for climate change, told China Daily in January that he believed China would fulfill its carbon emission pledges "on time", but it might be too early to say the nation has accomplished its goal. 

China is aiming to reach a peak in its carbon dioxide emissions around 2030, according to pledges it made in the landmark UN Paris climate agreement, which came into force last year. 

Although the government has yet to make any official announcement, experts and economists expect the trend will continue, leading to carbon emissions peaking earlier than expected. 

The former administrator of the Chinese National Energy Administration, Zhang Guobao, wrote in July that coal consumption has peaked, adding that it should be announced publicly. 

Fossil fuel demand would naturally shrink after the nation`s economy begins to rely more on the service sector, whose energy consumption and pollution levels are lower, according to Hu Angang, an economics professor at Tsinghua University. 

Hu said the decline is irreversible, as the nation puts more emphasis on environmental protection. He noted that China accomplished its first year`s goal on time, as set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). 

A total of 10 major environmental targets have been set in the plan, in areas such as energy consumption per unit of GDP and emission levels of CO2 per unit of GDP. 

China failed to accomplish its yearly goals on time during the previous five-year plan, according to Hu. 

Lin Boqiang, head of China Institute for Energy Policy Studies at Xiamen University, said the energy system would continue to decarbonize, and the share of coal in China`s energy mix will shrink. 

Coal`s share has fallen to 62 percent in 2016 from 64 percent in 2015, and the nation produced 9 percent less coal in 2016 than in 2015, the communique said. 

Yang Fuqiang, a senior analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said fossil fuels will continue play a large role in order to achieve economic goals, and coal consumption would shrink at a slower pace.

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 China in September 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us. For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China`s Jan copper concentrate imports from Peru rise 27% on year to 398,568 mt

Source: www.chinamining.org         Citation: Platts       Date: February 28, 2017

China imported 398,568 mt of copper concentrate from Peru in January, up 27% year on year, latest data released over the weekend by the General Administration of Customs showed.

Peru edged out Chile as China`s top source of imported copper concentrate in January. 

Imports from Chile stood at 318,618 mt in January, up 1% year on year. China`s other top eight suppliers in January were Mongolia with 110,867 mt, the US 67,011 mt, Mexico 50,440 mt, Australia 48,852 mt, Kazakhstan 37,852 mt, Spain 26,699 mt, Indonesia 25,942 mt and Laos 21,120 mt. 

Imports from the top 10 countries totaled 1.11 million mt, comprising 88.6% of China`s total copper concentrate imports of 1.25 million mt for January.

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 China in September23-25, 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China to boost gold output by 2020

Source: www.chinamining.org         Citation: Xinhua      Date: February 27, 2017

China will increase its annual gold output to 500 tons by 2020 from around 450 tons currently, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In the 2016-2020 period, gold output should grow by an average 3 percent annually, the MIIT said in latest guidelines for the gold industry development. 

China has been the world`s biggest gold producer for 10 years and the largest gold consumer for four years.

The country`s gold output rose 0.76 percent year on year to 453.5 tons in 2016, with consumption hitting 975.4 tons.

Last year, global gold demand increased 2 percent to 4,309 tons, the highest since 2013, boosted by an uplift in gold buying amid political and economic uncertainties, data from the World Gold Council show. 

The MIIT highlighted technology improvement and environmental protection in the gold industry. 

It aims to consolidate and upgrade the industry by reducing the number of gold miners to around 450 from more than 600, and shutting down 40 tons of outdated production capacity by the end of 2020.

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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 China in September23-25, 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China`s coal-rich Shanxi halts mining rights approvals, transfers

Source: www.chinamining.org         Citation: Xinhua      Date: February 24, 2017

North China`s coal-rich Shanxi province will continue to halt mining rights approvals and transfers in 2017 as it seeks to reduce overcapacity in the struggling industry, a local official said Thursday. 

The province will strictly limit increases in newly added coal output, said Xu Dachun, head of the provincial department of land and resources.  

Shanxi, where mining rights approvals and transfers were suspended for the first time in 2016, shut down 23.25 million tonnes of coal production capacity last year. 

Xu said the authorities will also strive to guard against resuming production at the closed coal mines.  

In addition, Shanxi will further step up mergers and acquisitions of existing mines to form large mining groups. It aims to limit the number of its mines to 900 in 2020, with each having an average production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes annually, the official said. 

Coal output in Shanxi hit 832 million tonnes in 2016, a decline of 143 million tonnes from the figure in 2015.  

Shanxi accounts for a quarter of China`s proven coal reserves with more than 260 billion tonnes.

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 China in September23-25, 2017. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 19^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2017, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.