On August 14, Liaoning Province-based Chinese steelmaker Anshan Iron and Steel Group Co. (Ansteel) announced that in the first seven months this year its costs for purchases of steelmaking raw materials indicated an 11.92 percent year-on-year decrease, while the average cost per metric ton declined by 16.86 percent year on year.
In order achieve reductions in its purchasing costs, in the given period Ansteel increased its purchases of imported coal, given the higher price of domestic coal. Meanwhile, the steelmaker stepped up its purchases of domestic production iron ore concentrate, with its number of domestic suppliers of iron ore concentrate increasing from three early this year to nine currently. In the first seven months, Ansteel saved RMB 77.31 million on its iron ore concentrate purchases by substituting imported iron ore with purchases of domestic material.
