China Renews Its First Overseas Project, to Import 70 mln Tons of Iron Ore in Next 5 Years

File photo: Channar mine in Australia

China’s state-owned Sinosteel have inked an agreement with Australian mining major Rio Tinto to extend their Channar Mining joint venture partnership in Beijing on April 15, 2016. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull witnessed the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, Sinosteel will obtain a supply of 30 million tons of iron ore, and will make a one-off payment of over 59 million USD and other production royalties up to 500 million USD over the five-year extension period.

A separate deal signed simultaneously says that Rio Tinto is to supply another 40 million tons of iron ore at most from 2016 to 2021. The deal signifies that, in the next five years, Australia’s Channar mine can export a total of 70 million tons of iron ore at most in the next five years.