Related News

Steel industry still suffering
Source: www.chinamining.org Citation: Global Times Date: May.06, 2013

Despite expectations that China`s steel demand would rebound this year along with massive infrastructure investment, insiders told the Global Times Sunday that many steel makers are still having a difficult time and are expected to lower factory prices for major steel products.

"Although the country has a lot of ongoing infrastructure construction projects, market pressure has forced us to cut steel prices," Deng Qilin, CEO of State-owned Wuhan Iron and Steel Group Corporation, told the Global Times Sunday.

Deng`s company is not alone in facing difficulties. Other large steel firms, including Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, Shougang Group and Jiangsu Shagang Group, have also reduced their steel prices, so as to remain competitive in the market.

The cut in prices came as something of a surprise, an industry insider who wished to remain anonymous told the Global Times Sunday.

Earlier in the year many manufacturers had "very positive expectations that the sector would see increasing earnings, and they were planning to raise prices," the insider said.

This was mainly because late last year the National Development and Reform Commission, the country`s top economic planner, approved a new round of economic stimulus plans, including urban railway projects worth as much as 650 billion yuan ($105 billion) for 2013.

Earlier this year, market analysts said they expected a rebound in demand for steel, which led some companies to increase their inventories.

The total stockpiles of five major steel products in 22 cities reached a record of 15.57 million tons in March, an increase of 22.9 percent month-on-month, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

"But the expectations of rising demand turned out to be false," said the insider, noting that it was poor sales performance that triggered producers` decisions to cut prices.

Wang Guoqing, a senior analyst at Beijing Lange Steel Information Research Center, echoed this sentiment.

Wang told the Global Times Sunday that when the country changed to its new leadership in March, local governments also changed their leaders, and new administrations are generally inclined to be more cautious about infrastructure projects amid rising debts.

"Therefore, some railway projects were delayed, which directly impacted steel demand," said Wang.

Also, in the past, construction companies bought large quantities of steel as they were concerned about possible price hikes.

But now, the steel industry`s overcapacity problem is well-known and price rises are less likely, so many construction firms buy smaller amounts to cover just their current needs, Wang said.

According to a report released by the CISA at the end of last month, in March, 45.3 percent of its 272 member companies were in the red.

This showed that the industry is still "weak" because of fiercer competition amid industrial overcapacity, said Zhu Jimin, the CISA`s vice chairman.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Int`l demand rises for China rare earths in Q1
Source: www.chinamining.org Citation: China Daily Date: Apr.23, 2013

                                               Rare earths at the port of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, ready for export in 2009. Rare earth
                                       exports in China rose 55 percent from February to 1,718 metric tons in March. Woo He / for China Daily

Global demand for rare earth metals from China climbed in the first quarter due to falling prices despite domestic producers and processors reporting losses.

Statistics from the General Administration of Customs suggest that rare earth exports rose 55 percent in March from February to 1,718 metric tons.

Export volume in the first three months grew 47.3 percent to 3,916 tons. But in the same period, export value dropped 71 percent to $91.9 million.

Deputy Secretary-General of the China Rare Earths Industry Association Chen Zhanheng said the growth in exports volume stems from a price decline in 2011, stimulating overseas buyers who had used up their reserves. Chen said there are no signs of a quick rebound from falling demand at home and abroad, but he believes the market will grow as production is being regulated and prices continue to fall.

Chen Jiazuo, an analyst from the China Nonferrous Metals Information Network, said it only took two years for the industry to deteriorate from its peak, yet current prices are still higher than the lowest point in the past 10 years.

Only half of the export quota in 2012 was used due to the price surge in 2011, which deterred buyers. The value of exports in 2012 fell 66.1 percent year-on-year to $906 million.

Rare earths, which comprise 17 metallic elements, are used in many technological products, including missile systems.

China supplies more than 90 percent of the world`s rare earths, and has nearly one-third of the known global reserves.

In the first quarter, Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech, the country`s largest rare earth producer, reported revenue of 2.29 billion yuan ($366 million), down 35.7 percent from a year ago. Its net profit fell 79.7 percent to 245 million yuan. Its first quarter report said prices for its main products have dropped more than 50 percent.

Last year, the firm saw a sharp drop in net profit and revenue due to falling demand and a slowing economy.

Net profit dropped 56 percent to 1.51 billion yuan year-on-year, while revenue fell 19 percent to 9.24 billion yuan as a result of low demand in the rare earth market and a price drop.

Baotou Steel resumed production on Feb 23 after a four-month halt due to the price slump. Another producer, Rising Nonferrous Metals Co Ltd, saw a first quarter loss of 29 million yuan due to a drop in operating revenue and gross profit.

Last month, China Minmetals Rare Earth Co Ltd announced a 47 percent drop in revenue, from 7.6 billion yuan in 2011, with net profit falling 74 percent in 2011.

Many downstream enterprises are suffering due to the price surge in 2011, with some closing their operations, Chen said. Rising prices have forced many manufacturers to switch to other materials or seek new markets for rare earths, he said.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

                                                        Global miners keen to tap Chinese market  
                                                              Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: China Daily  Date: Apr.08, 2013

Global producers said they will continue to invest in China because the country`s urbanization and industrialization will continue to support iron ore demand. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Australia`s third-biggest iron ore producer, will invest $10 billion to expand its iron ore production capacity to meet the growing demand mainly from China, said the company`s CEO Neville Power on Sunday during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference held in South China`s Hainan province. He said FMG will have 155 million metric tons of production capacity by the end of 2013 and up to 90 percent of the output will supply the Chinese market.

By then, the company`s iron ore supply will account for about 20 percent of China`s total iron ore imports. "President Xi Jinping`s remarks during the Boao Forum show that the Chinese government will continue to make efforts on economic development and improving people`s living standards and we are honored to participate in the process as a supplier for such an important resource," Power said. China`s GDP growth is set to stay at 7.5 percent to 8 percent, which means the country`s steel output will increase at 3 to 4 percent and it will create demand for iron ore, he said. Sam Walsh, CEO of the world`s third-largest miner Rio Tinto, shared similar views with Power. During the China Development Forum last month, Walsh told China Daily that China`s "enormous" economic base will create significant demand and Rio Tinto will continue to invest in China. At present, a third of Rio Tinto`s revenue is from the Chinese market. China is expected to produce 746 million tons of crude steel in 2013, 30 million tons more than last year, which will result in new iron ore demand of 50 million tons, according to figures from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country`s top economic planner. Dalian Commodity Exchange, one of the three major commodity exchanges in the country, is preparing to launch iron ore futures, hoping it can give Chinese steel companies a bigger say in iron ore prices in the international market. FMG`s iron ore business has been highly dependent on the Chinese market since it exported the first cargo of iron ore to China in 2008. So far, it has supplied more than 200 million metric tons of iron ore in total to China. In 2012, the company supplied iron ore to 52 Chinese steel mills with a closer cooperation relationship. Valin Group Co in Hunan province, one of China`s large steel companies, has become a major shareholder of FMG. "The global iron ore market is monopolized by giant producers and FMG is working on breaking the monopoly by providing more choices of high-quality iron ore to Chinese customers," said Liu Xiaodong, marketing director of the company. About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises. CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

                                                             Major rare earth group formed in S China 
                                                                       Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Xinhua  Date: Apr.08, 2013 A major rare earth production corporation has been formed in east China`s Jiangxi Province as part of efforts to boost the industry`s sustainable development.

The state-owned Ganzhou Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd., based in the city of Ganzhou, was founded through the merging of its key subsidiary Ganzhou Rare Earth Mineral Industry Co., Ltd. and some local rare earth companies, including Longnan Wanbao Rare Earth Co.

Thirty-six percent of China`s middle and heavy rare earth reserves are in Ganzhou, which has experienced overexploitation since the end of the 1970s.

"From now on, Ganzhou will step up efforts to facilitate the merging and restructuring of the rare earth industry," said Liu Jianping, vice mayor of Ganzhou.

As the only prospector in Ganzhou,the group will be involved in rare earth mining, smelting, processing and trade.

In 2012, the sales revenues of the rare earth industry in Ganzhou reached 34 billion yuan (about 5.44 billion U.S. dollars), acccounting for one-third of the industry`s revenues nationwide, according to Ma Rongzhang, secretary-general of the China Rare Earth Industry Association.

As the world`s largest rare earth supplier, China serves more than 90 percent of global demand for rare earth metals, a group of 17 elements that are necessary to manufacture high-tech products ranging from flatscreen TVs to lasers and hybrid cars.

However, the country holds only 23 percent of the world`s rare earth reserves. Decades of excessive exploitation have greatly damaged the environment.

In January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), along with 11 other authorities, said in a guideline that the government is encouraging mergers in the auto, steel, cement, shipbuilding, electrolytic aluminum, rare earth, electronic information, pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors.

The government will slash the number of rare earth firms through mergers and concentrate production capacity, the guideline says.

China`s top rare earth producer, the Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co., announced last December that it would gain control of another 12 rare earth firms in order to form a megacompany.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

                                                          Deputy appeals for greener coal mining policies   
                                                                       Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: China Daily  Date: Mar.11, 2013

                                                                 [Photo / China Daily]The Liangyungang Coal Wharf in Jiangsu province. A legislator has called for more policies to encourage greener exploration of coal to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. A legislator has called for more policies to encourage greener exploration of coal in an attempt to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. "Society is now striving to stop extravagance on the dinner table, but what should draw more attention is energy waste," said Bu Changsen, chairman of Shandong Energy Group, the country`s second-largest coal producer. Bu, also a deputy to the country`s top legislature, said energy waste is extremely severe in the coal production process, which also discharges a large amount of solid waste and dust. He said coal burning generates 70 percent of the emissions of suspended particulate matter, a major source of air pollution in China.
 
"Waste on a dinner table may cost money, but energy waste kills. We can grow vegetables and breed cattle, but fossil fuels are non-renewable resources."

He also said coal mining has led to the collapse of as much as 600,000 hectares of land. To reduce such damage, Bu suggested mining should use a method where waste rock is used as filler material during the exploration process. This process could even use sediment from the Yellow River, and such a program is likely to first be rolled out at Heze, in Shandong province, Bu said. Companies should also improve efficiency during the washing and dressing process in coal mining, he said, and advanced technology should be introduced, such as integrated gasification combined cycle technology. This technology uses a gasifier to turn coal and other carbon-based fuels into a gas known as synthesis gas, or syngas. It then removes impurities from the syngas before it is combusted. Some of these pollutants, such as sulfur, can be turned into reusable byproducts. Some of these measures have been adopted by companies, but Bu called in his motion for more government support to widen such operations to the entire industry. Bu suggested the government should offer more financial support to enterprises using the filler method. He said long-distance (more than 500 km) transportation of coal should be banned, along with the direct burning of rough coal. The introduction of new techniques will also improve work efficiency and reduce working hours, he said. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China`s coal production stood at 3.65 billion tons in 2012, accounting for 50 percent of the world`s total, and 500 million tons more than the combined volume of the other nine countries on the list of the top 10 producers. In 2011, coal contributed to 68.4 percent of China`s total energy consumption. The National Energy Administration estimates the proportion will still be above 50 percent by 2030, when annual coal consumption reaches 4.5 billion tons. "Coal will be a major component in China`s energy structure in the long term," Bu said. Many developed countries no longer explore highly polluting resources but China has to do so to fuel its economic growth. However, "the `golden age` for China`s coal industry in the past 10 years has passed, and it will never come back," Bu said. About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises. CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

                                                                Chinese miners ready to bulk up
                                                     Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: www.smh.com.au  Date: Mar.05, 2013

A record wave of consolidation in China`s mining industry is creating bigger companies that will have the muscle to compete with the likes of BHP Billiton for overseas acquisitions. Even after Chinese domestic mining mergers reached $US19.6 billion last year, double the tally for 2011, the government wants to see more. Easier access to capital and less Chinese competition for assets may make companies including China Minmetals and Aluminum Corp of China more robust overseas buyers, said Deloitte & Touche. That`ll help reverse a slump in acquisitions of mining assets outside of China, which fell to a five-year low of $US2.9 billion in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show. As the world`s biggest importer of iron ore and coal, China relies on foreign sources of the raw materials. ``With stronger and bigger Chinese players emerging, we could see a significant pickup in the volume of overseas acquisitions,`` said Richard Tory, head of natural resources for the Asia-Pacific region at Morgan Stanley. China`s mining industry, while one of the world`s largest producers of minerals including gold and tin, is now peppered with thousands of smaller companies. Minmetals, its largest miner by revenue, had assets of $US36.6 billion at the end of 2011 - dwarfed by BHP`s $US122.1 billion. ``China`s mining sector is too fragmented right now,`` said Eugene Qian, head of global banking for China at Citigroup. ``It needs a lot of consolidation to create majors.`` In January, the government said it would promote mergers in nine industries including steel, aluminum and rare earths to create ``globally competitive`` enterprises, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The announcement reinforced what`s already begun. Excluding deals between parent companies and their subsidiaries, the largest domestic acquisition last year was Hunan Jiangnan Red Arrow`s $US623 million takeover of Zhongnan Diamond. ``Creating national champions makes sense because mining is very capital-intensive, said Jeremy South, who oversees global mining advisory at Deloitte & Touche. ``It also makes no sense for Chinese companies to be competing with each other for overseas deals.`` Shenhua Group bought China State Grid Corp.`s electric-generation unit for $US8.2 billion last year. The Chinese state-owned miner is now studying an investment in Whitehaven Coal, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Whitehaven, part owned by Nathan Tinkler, has a market value of $2.64 billion. The stock is trading at its lowest level since May 2009. An official at Shenhua Group`s press department in Beijing declined to comment. Whitehaven Chairman Mark Vaile said February 21 that the company hasn`t had any recent dialogue with Shenhua
.
Citic Group, China`s largest state-owned investment company, last month agreed to pay about $452 million for a 13 per cent stake in Alumina, partner in the world`s biggest alumina business. Other Chinese miners are also searching for deals. Chinalco Mining Corporation International may seek assets in South America, Africa and Asia, chief executive Peng Huaisheng said in Hong Kong on January 17. Parent Aluminum Corp of China was the most active overseas acquirer among Chinese miners in the past decade with $US14 billion of deals, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Minmetals could become one of the main Chinese buyers abroad, according to Deloitte`s South. Both Chinalco and Minmetals are state-controlled. Zhaojin Mining Industry, China`s fourth-biggest gold producer, is studying takeovers in South America and other regions and may announce a deal ``in the near future,`` Chen He, assistant to the company`s president, said in November. Two gold companies that could attract Chinese interest are Saracen Mineral Holdings of Perth and  Colorado-based Alacer Gold, which has assets in Australia and Turkey, according to Troy Irvin, a Perth-based analyst at Argonaut Securities. Their large reserves and production assets typically appeal to Chinese companies, Irvin said. Officials at Saracen and Alacer declined to comment or weren`t immediately available. ``The Chinese see the value of building bigger companies to compete with major mining companies in the world,`` said Deloitte`s South. About CHINA MINING
Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises. CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

                                                     China`s aluminum stockpiles reach new high: expert   
                                                                    Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: China Daily  Date: Feb.25, 2013 China`s aluminum inventories reached a record high this week, caused by rapidly growing supply and weak demand in the country, resulting in sharp price drops, an expert said.

The country`s overall aluminum stockpiles climbed to 1.25 million metric tons on Monday, almost double the level during the same period late year, according to Myyouse.com, a Shanghai-based commodities information consultancy.

On January 10 last year, the nation`s aluminum stockpiles stood at about 700,000 tons, said Li Xun, an analyst at the consultancy.

He told China Daily the excessive supply in China`s aluminum industry will continue at least for the first half of the year.

"The aluminum price will fall by 200 yuan ($32) to 300 yuan a ton during this week," he said. "That is considered a dramatic price drop in the market."

Domestically produced aluminum was listed at 14,530 yuan a ton in trading in Shanghai on Thursday, 160 yuan down from Wednesday, according to Myyouse.com. The price decline in Wuxi, another major aluminum trading center, was even sharper - 180 yuan a ton over one day.

Li said there are many reasons for the increasing stockpiles, but the major one is the new production capacity in western areas of China.

Facing a gloomy economy, many international aluminum companies decided to reduce capacities in recent years to survive amid shrinking demand and falling prices.

However, many Chinese companies continued to increase their capacities and output, leading to even fiercer competition in the market.

About 90 percent of the new electrolytic aluminum production capacity has come from western China since 2009. In 2011, China`s 3.4 million tons of new production capacity for electrolytic aluminum was mainly centered on the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Qinghai province in Northwest China, according to the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.

Li said the new projects approved in Xinjiang began production, which could not be absorbed by the market, leading to the current situation.

Also, before Spring Festival, transport links from west to east were affected by bad weather, adding more difficulties to easing aluminum stockpiles.

"If aluminum producers in eastern China don`t reduce their output, the oversupply will continue even if consumption rises," said Li. "The supply increase is far greater than consumption growth in China."

He said the government had not taken effective measures to eliminate small-scale aluminum producers that lack advanced technology.

"It might be a good time for the processing companies to purchase aluminum as their raw material," he said.

He predicted the aluminum price would stay at about 14,500 yuan to 15,000 yuan a ton during the first half of the year.

However, an insider from a leading domestic aluminum processing company said a price fall cannot contribute much because processing companies usually have long-term price contracts with material suppliers.

"The aluminum cost is not a key factor for profits. The processing cost is," the insider said.

Profits of China`s nonferrous metal industry dropped 34 percent year-on-year to 39.3 billion yuan in 2012, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The aluminum sector saw the biggest profit drop - a 92.7 percent decline to 930 million yuan in the past year.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.  

                                                                 China to introduce carbon tax: official    
                                                                        Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Xinhua  Date: Feb.20, 2013 China will proactively introduce a set of new taxation policies designed to preserve the environment, including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Finance.

The government will collect the environmental protection tax instead of pollutant discharge fees, as well as levy a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, Jia Chen, head of the ministry`s tax policy division, wrote in an article published on the MOF`s website.

It will be the local taxation authority, rather than the environmental protection department, that will collect the taxes.

The government is also looking into the possibility of taxing energy-intensive products such as batteries, as well as luxury goods such as aircraft that are not used for public transportation, according to Jia.

To conserve natural resources, the government will push forward resource tax reforms by taxing coal based on prices instead of sales volume, as well as raising coal taxes. A resource tax will also be levied on water.

The article did not specify when the new measures will be implemented.

In 2010, MOF experts suggested levying a carbon tax in 2012 at 10 yuan per ton of carbon dioxide, as well as recommended increasing the tax to 50 yuan per ton by 2020.

China is among the world`s largest emitters of greenhouse gas and has set goals for cutting emissions. The government has vowed to reduce carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output, by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 in comparison to 2005 levels.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2013 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 2-5, 2013. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2013, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.