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Domestic News

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization organized a meeting

The 15th Five-Year Plan Seminar on Comprehensive Utilization of Industrial Resources

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

In order to do a good job in the research work on the comprehensive utilization of industrial resources during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently organized a seminar on the comprehensive utilization of industrial resources during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Relevant responsible comrades from the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization, representatives of relevant industry associations and research institutions attended the meeting.

Participants conducted in-depth discussions and put forward suggestions on the completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the development situation, common problems and key work measures facing the 15th Five-Year Plan in the fields of large-scale industrial solid waste such as phosphogypsum, red mud, and fly ash, comprehensive utilization of renewable resources such as waste power batteries, waste steel, waste copper and aluminum, waste plastics, waste paper, and waste tires, and remanufacturing of electromechanical products. Relevant responsible comrades from the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization pointed out that it is necessary to further strengthen the evaluation and summary of the development of the industrial resource comprehensive utilization industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, in-depth analysis and judgment of the development situation facing the 15th Five-Year Plan, and scientifically and reasonably propose the goals, tasks and path measures for the comprehensive utilization of industrial resources during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Two new oilfields were born!

180 million tons added in eastern China Shale oil Reserves

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

Sinopec announced on the 3rd that, after review and approval by the Ministry of Natural Resources, its Xinxing and Qintong oilfields are both typical continental fault-basin shale oilfields, with newly proven geological reserves of 180 million tons. This marks the birth of two shale oilfields in the continental fault-basin in eastern China, which is of great significance to the efficient exploration and development deployment of continental shale oil resources in China.

Shale oil is a petroleum resource contained in shale formations rich in organic matter. China has great exploration potential for shale oil resources, which is an important strategic resource and will become an important replacement force for China's long-term stable oil production.

Li Jinggong, head of the oil and gas reserve appraisal expert group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said that this appraisal applied China's independently developed industry standards for shale oil reserve estimation and characteristic continental shale oil system data for the first time, appraising China's first batch of continental fault-basin shale oilfields, which has accumulated valuable experience for the improvement of subsequent shale oil evaluation technical specifications and reserve appraisal work.

Hebei adds 471 million tons of iron ore

Boosting resource security

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

At the experience exchange meeting on the new round of mineral exploration breakthrough strategic action in Hebei Province held on March 5, the Provincial Department of Natural Resources announced that major breakthroughs have been made in the exploration of strategic minerals in the province during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Among them, the Changning Iron Mine in Luannan County, eastern Hebei, and the Qinglongshan-Qingzhuangzi Iron Mine have added 318 million tons and 153 million tons of iron ore resources respectively, totaling 471 million tons, exceeding the target task of the 14th Five-Year Plan ahead of schedule. The meeting pointed out that Hebei Province has achieved full coverage of basic geological surveys and breakthrough progress in strategic minerals through strengthening planning guidance, technological innovation and financial support, including 4.5304 million tons of crystalline graphite added in Zhangbei County and 26,900 tons of cobalt resources revitalized in the Daimiao area of Chengde. The next step will focus on consolidating iron ore resource bases, exploring gold and other precious metals, and improving green exploration technologies, deepening industry-academia-research cooperation, and building a diversified funding mechanism to promote innovation in metallogenic theory and technological transformation, providing support for ensuring national energy and resource security.

850 million tons of coal and 120 million tons of iron added

Anhui's new round of mineral exploration breakthroughs achieves phased results

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Anhui Provincial Department of Natural Resources achieved phased results in mineral exploration breakthroughs through innovative work methods, adding 850 million tons of coal, 120 million tons of iron, 200,000 tons of copper, 25 tons of gold, 1.96 million tons of fluorite, and 730,000 tons of vanadium. Its successful experiences include: First, combining fund guidance with commercial follow-up, investing 480 million yuan in provincial geological exploration funds and guiding nearly 600 million yuan in social capital investment to implement more than 370 exploration projects. Second, coordinating and linking efforts to promote in-depth cooperation among geological exploration units, mining enterprises, universities, and research institutes. Third, innovation-driven and technology-enabled, carrying out technological research on key technical methods for strategic mineral exploration. Fourth, ecological priority and green exploration, issuing the local standard "Green Exploration Technical Specifications". Fifth, policy incentives, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement, deepening the reform of mineral resource management, implementing the full life cycle management of mines, transferring 62 mining rights, and generating 54.8 billion yuan in revenue.

100-ton electric mining truck

Achieved large-scale application at the Zahanaoer Coal Mine of State Power Investment

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

The first batch of 10 NTE130E 120-ton pure electric mining trucks of State Power Investment Inner Mongolia Company have been put into operation, marking the large-scale application of 100-ton electric mining trucks in the domestic open-pit mining field. These trucks use lithium iron phosphate batteries, and can continuously work for more than 5 hours after charging for 1 hour. Compared with traditional diesel trucks of the same tonnage, energy consumption is reduced by 40% and cost is reduced by 63%. Zahanaoer Coal Mine Company actively organized vehicle assembly, charging pile installation and driver training, and added a smart safety system to ensure safe operation. In the next step, the application of electric mining trucks will be gradually expanded to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of enterprises.

 

Mining News

International Perspective

The world's largest high-grade iron ore project, Simandou, will be put into production by the end of 2025

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

At the 2025 South African Mining Summit held recently, Guinean Minister of Mines Bona Hila announced that the world's largest undeveloped high-grade iron ore project, Simandou, will be put into production by the end of 2025, and its annual output will double to 120 million tons in 2026.

The project is divided into south and north blocks: the south block is jointly developed by Rio Tinto (holding 45.05%) and Chalco (39.95%), and the north block is led by China Baowu. The total proven resources are 4.41 billion tons, with a total iron grade of over 65%. The Guinean government expects 30 million tons of production in each of the south and north blocks in 2025 (a total of 60 million tons), and 60 million tons in each block in 2026. Rio Tinto plans to invest US$6.2 billion in the construction of ports and railways, and to deliver the first batch of ore in advance in 2025, increasing the southern capacity to 60 million tons (Rio Tinto's equity 27 million tons) within 30 months. Despite the huge infrastructure investment (Rio Tinto's annual capital expenditure of US$10 billion from 2024 to 2026) and complex ownership challenges, the project will significantly alleviate the global shortage of iron ore supply after it is put into production, and promote the economic development of Guinea and the African mining industry.

Western Mining Company:

Metals used to produce bullets may be even more scarce

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

With a surge in European defense spending, the supply crisis of antimony, a crucial metal for military applications, is intensifying. China implemented an export licensing system for antimony in August 2024 (with explicit restrictions on exports to the US clarified by the end of the year), and coupled with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict depleting Western stockpiles, this caused overseas antimony prices to soar from US\$10,000/ton to US\$50,000/ton between 2024 and 2025. Global annual demand for antimony is 120,000 tons (excluding the battery industry), while production is only 80,000 tons, with 87% of the supply dependent on China, Russia, and Tajikistan. Australia's Larvotto company announced that its Grovehill antimony mine, accounting for 7% of global demand, will begin production in 2026; the US is accelerating the restart of strategic resources, with Perpetua's Stibnite mine (which supplied 90% of US demand during World War II), approved by the Biden administration, scheduled to begin production in 2028, at which point it could meet 35% of US demand. Currently, Mandalay Resources' Australian mine only maintains 2% of global production and continues to shrink, highlighting the urgency of Western self-sufficiency in critical resources.

RusAl Successfully Produces Ultra-Low Heavy Metal Content Aluminum

JUMPER TECHNOLOGY

RusAl recently successfully produced aluminum with vanadium content reduced by 10 times using a revolutionary inert anode technology. This technology not only reduces heavy metal impurities to near zero (traditional carbon anode processes result in heavy metal content in aluminum due to the use of petroleum coke), but also significantly improves the conductivity of aluminum, providing a highly efficient and energy-saving solution for applications such as energy sector cable materials. Since pioneering industrial trials in 2017, this technology has made a breakthrough by transforming emissions from the electrolysis process from greenhouse gases into oxygen, representing an industry innovation that is both economical and environmentally friendly. RusAl representatives pointed out that eliminating vanadium allows customers to directly identify products made with inert anode technology without relying on traditional, high-cost metal purification processes. This breakthrough is of significant importance in reducing power transmission energy consumption and promoting the development of a green aluminum industry.