China activates new refractory iron ore processing line to boost domestic resource security

According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) last Tuesday, a production line capable of processing 5.56 million tonnes of refractory iron ore and tailings per year has passed official checks and is now running steadily.

On the other hand, China has the fourth-largest iron ore reserves, yet most are low grade, and nearly half are too hard and costly to process with standard methods. So huge amounts remain unused.

The new breakthrough aims precisely at making those hard-to-use ores viable.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that the technology could fundamentally strengthen China’s ability to secure its own iron resources and reduce its heavy dependence on imports of the strategic commodity.