The head of one of China's largest steel companies has said that it will make better use of both its overseas and domestic resources and increase international cooperation to follow a sustainable development path.
Shougang Group has iron ore and coal production operations in Hebei, Liaoning, Hubei, Shanxi, and Guizhou provinces and the Ningxia and Xinjiang autonomous regions. It wants to establish new mines abroad and cooperate with different partners, said Zhu Jimin, chairman of the board, in Tianjin on Sunday. "Cooperating with coal mines and iron ore companies helps us ensure raw materials supplies," Zhu said.
The company has an iron ore mine in Peru with 1.41 billion tons of reserves and is planning to extend its production and has recently been active in penetrating other overseas markets, for example in Australia.
"We're talking with some foreign companies about purchasing and exploring for overseas iron ore and coal mines together," Zhu added. "Extensive cooperation and making full use of domestic and overseas resources are important to the mining business these days."
The company has reported that it has partnerships with major Chinese coal companies, including the Shenhua Group and Datong Coal Mine Group, as well as iron ore producers in Australia, Brazil and India. "Cooperating with coal mines and iron ore companies helps us ensure raw materials supplies," Zhu went on to explain. Zhu explained that Shougang's overseas development has always involved taking some risks during expansion. Nonetheless, Zhu said, the risks still exist, including the high price of iron ore in developed countries