Rise of China’s Xinjiang as coal hub undercuts climate goals
Output has surged 22% this year, the fastest growth of any region in China.
China’s Jiangsu Shagang Group, the country’s biggest private-owned steel mill, said it will halt operations at five blast furnaces with total annual capacity of 3.07 million tonnes, between Nov.1 and Nov.15, state-backed China Securities Journal reported on Monday.
Yonggang Group, a subsidiary of Shagang Group, will shut down four of its blast furnaces with total annual capacity of 2.84 million tonnes and two steel-making plants in November. The closure will happen around the time when China International Imports Expo will be held between Nov.5 and Nov. 10 in Shanghai.
Analysts expect the operation halt at two steel mills to reduce pig iron output of 290,000 tonnes and steel products output of about 160,000 tonnes, China Securities Journal said.
(By Muyu Xu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
