EAST AFRICA MINING: Shanxi Zerong seeks iron ore, steel partners in Africa

Chinese metallurgical company Shanxi Zerong Industrial Co is eyeing iron ore trading opportunities and steel sector partners in Africa, a company representative told Steel First on Friday October 18.

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“We are looking for new partners among steel companies and are also planning to trade iron ore and manganese ore in Africa,” the representative said on the sidelines of the Eastern Africa Mining Business & Investment Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

The China-based company produces 5 million tpy of coking coal, which it sells to steel mills in Shanxi province. It also trades around 10,000 tonnes of iron ore per month to the local steel industry.

“The iron ore trade is not our main business now but we are trying to expand,” the representative explained.

Shanxi Zerong has imported iron ore from India to China before, but the mining bans in the South Asian country have made this more difficult.

The company has been touring different African countries, and trading activity with the continent could start this year, the representative said.

It is also interested in investment opportunities in gold mining in Africa, but iron ore and coking coal mining operations on the continent are not yet being investigated, he added.