On February 7, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Iron and Steel Industry (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). Among them, the "Opinions" clearly pointed out that it is necessary to encourage enterprises to carry out port mixing business, increase port inventory, give play to the buffer role of port inventory on resource security, and strengthen international iron ore resource development cooperation in accordance with the principle of marketization.
The "Opinions" pointed out that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the mainland steel industry still has problems such as overcapacity pressure, insufficient industrial safety and security capabilities, green and low-carbon development level to be improved, and low industrial concentration, etc. It is necessary to deepen the supply-side structural reform as the main line, give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources, better play the role of the government, accelerate the quality change, efficiency change and power change of the steel industry, ensure the safety and stability of the industrial chain supply chain, and promote the overall improvement of quality and efficiency.
In recent years, a number of port enterprises in the mainland have carried out mixing business, built iron ore mixing and distribution centers, and successively cooperated with international mining giants such as Vale, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, FMG, etc., and achieved impressive achievements. According to the understanding of the port circle, Dalian Port is the first specialized ore terminal in China with the qualification of "bonded mixed ore", and the international transit volume of bonded mixed ore ranks first in the country. On September 22, 2020, Rio Tinto and Dalian Port launched the first multi-country and multi-mineral "bonded ore mixing" in China's ports, and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation; on September 27, 2021, Liaoning Port, Northeast Sinotrans, Shanghai Iron and Steel Federation held seminars with a number of internationally renowned miners to carry out the "bonded screening + international transit" business, and strive to build a world-class Northeast Asian iron ore mixing and distribution center. At the same time, Vale implemented bonded mixed mineral business for the first time in domestic ports, which was led by Dalian Port Group.
The mainland port mixing industry has recently developed rapidly: Qingdao port mixing business is known as "Dongjiakou standard mine"; Yantai Port Ore Company has developed a high-precision automatic mixing system, making Yantai Port the only port in the country to accurately mix four kinds of materials in a professional process line, all of which confirm the broad development prospects of the port mixing business in the mainland.