Record High Zinc Concentrate Import Expected (Jun 15)
chinaproducts.com
China's import of zinc concentrate may reach a record 350,000 tons this year, higher than the 1996 historical high of 295,100 tons, competent department predicts. Most imports will be conducted through general trade, presenting a sharp contrast to 1996 when imports were for the purpose of processing. It is learned that China's production capacity of zinc ingot increased by 150,000 tons in 2000, and an additional 50,000 ton capacity went into operation in the first half of this year.
(Xinhua)
China to Focus on Sustainable Mineral Development (Jun 15)
chinaproducts.com
Overseas businessmen are being given more opportunities to get involved in the mining industry in the Chinese mainland. The Ministry of Land and Resources is encouraging overseas investors to establish joint ventures with their Chinese counterparts. The ministry has also extended an invitation to foreign expertise, especially in the non-oil sector, according to Zhong Ziran, the vice director of the Department of Planning of the ministry. Zhong made the announcement in Beijing on June 12 at the launch of a new national program focused on the sustainable development of the mineral industry.
Zhong said the country had greatly improved its investment climate since 1999 when the Chinese mining market started to open up to the outside world. Foreign businesses, including joint ventures or cooperative companies, working bodies or companies with representative offices that have officially registered with China's departments of industrial and commercial administration, have been authorized to prospect for minerals in China since last year. They have also been guaranteed mining rights once they strike a fresh resource.
The latest move follows a series of preferential policies aimed at foreign mining companies in China. These include cutting red tape and attracting foreign funds to the country's comparably backward yet mineral-rich west. Zhong said little foreign investment had channeled into the Chinese mineral market because of the slumping prices of mineral products on the international market.
Many big multinational companies have been actively involved in prospecting for minerals in western China is preparation for an upturn in the market, said Zhong. The National Program of Mineral Resources highlights the protection and sustainable use of mineral resources. The first of its kind, the program is a strategic guideline for the future development of China's mineral industry. It is based on the country's revised Law of Mineral Resources and endorsed by the State Council.
Violation can be punished. The program says China should build an open mineral industry in the next 10 years, adaptable to the country's socialist market economy, enjoying a competitive edge in the international market and being friendly to the environment. The mineral industry has become a major pillar of the Chinese economy. The output value of China's mineral industry was 357.3 billion yuan in 1999, 4.4 percent of the country's gross national product (GNP). The mineral-based processing industry comprised as much as 30 percent of the GNP.
Meanwhile, 15 percent of the country's total import and export volume for that year went to mineral or mineral-related products. However, China suffers from a lack of some important minerals like oil and sylvite.
(Xinhua)
4 Large Lead-Zinc Industrial Bases Take Shape in China (Jun 14)
chinaproducts.com
Four large lead-zinc industrial bases have taken shape in China, an important lead and zinc producer in the world. They are:
-- The Nanling Mountain Area Base.
The recoverable deposits of lead and zinc resources in Hunan and Guangdong provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is 27.26 million tons, accounting for 21.4 percent of the country¡¯s total. The annual production capacity of the base is 168,400 tons of lead and 384,100 tons of zinc. The fine smelting capacity is 252,600 tons of lead and 606,000 tons of zinc. The output of lead concentrate was 323,400 tons in 1999 and of zinc concentrate, 783,500 tons.
-- The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Base.
The annual production capacity of the base is 94,100 tons of lead and 384,100 tons of zinc. The annual smelting capacity is 168,100 tons of lead and 288,600 tons of zinc. The base promises to be the largest potential lead and zinc resources production base in China in the 21st century.
-- The Northwest China Base.
The existing annual production capacity is 75,900 tons of lead and 200,000 tons of zinc. The fine smelting capacity is 139,000 tons of lead and 81,200 tons of zinc.
-- The Northeast China Base.
The annual production capacity is 18,500 tons of lead and 34,000 tons of zinc. The fine smelting capacity is 85,000 tons of lead and 360,000 tons of zinc.
(Xinhua) |
