![[China-Australia Relations]China won a battle in Africa to weaken Australian iron ore hegemony-Hong Kong Economic Times-China Channel-National Conditions](https://static01-proxy.hket.com/res/v3/image/content/2835000/2838572/001_1024.png "[China-Australia Relations]China won a battle in Africa to weaken Australian iron ore hegemony-Hong Kong Economic Times-China Channel-National Conditions")
Under the tense relationship between China and Australia, the purchase of Australian products has been greatly reduced, but some resources still inevitably rely on the latter, such as iron ore. Foreign media reported that Congo and Cameroon, located in Central and West Africa, recently withdrew Australian companies’ mining rights to a super-large iron ore and transferred some mines to Chinese companies. Australia has stated that it will file a lawsuit and it is estimated that it will be difficult to regain the mining rights. Foreign media pointed out that China’s current investment in Africa is temporarily unable to break Australia’s monopoly in the iron ore market, but this incident is only the first step in China’s layout.
Australian companies are weak, China grabs mining rights
The press release of the Ministry of Commerce stated,Australia’s Sundance signed agreements with Cameroon and Congo to develop the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Sundance has branches in both countries to be responsible for project implementation, of which Cam Iron SA is the branch in Cameroon, and the Cameroon government holds 10% of the shares. According to the agreement, the company plans to invest US$8.7 billion in mine development, construction of the Mbalam-Nabeba 510-kilometer railway, and construction of an iron ore terminal at the Kribi Deepwater Port.
It is planned to be mined in two phases, with an annual mining period of 40 million tons of iron ore and a mining period of 12 years.In the second phase, 35 million tons of high-grade hematite concentrate is produced annually, and the mining period is 15 years.butSundance’s own strength is not enough. It has cooperated with Sichuan Hanlong Group and Australia AustSino, but they both gave up halfway. The governments of the two countries are increasingly dissatisfied due to the delay in starting development. On November 30 this year, Congo announced the cancellation of Sundance’s development rights.In early December, the Minister of Industry and Mines of Cameroon stated that Cameroon plans to cooperate with a consortium of five Chinese companies (China Metallurgical, China Railway Construction, Yantian Port, Baowu Group, Shanghai Qingshan Group) to determine iron ore development cooperation within 2021 Partner in disguiseGive up working with Sundance.
Sundance accused the two governments of Kagang for failing to abide by relevant laws and previous agreements between the two parties, and stated that if their reasonable requirements are not met within 60 days, they will initiate international arbitration.Foreign media pointed out that Australia plans to claim more than US$8.7 billion from the governments of the two countries, but because the structure of Chinese companies completely exceeds the scale of cooperation planned by it, it wants to get back.Mining rightsIt is not easy.
China’s deployment in Africa hits Australian ore hegemony
Reuters and other foreign media analysis pointed out that China’s investment and development of iron ore in Africa cannot replace the monopoly of Australian iron ore in the market. Last year, more than 60% of China’s imported iron ore came from Australia. The proportion of iron ore imported from Australia in the month also reached 62%.In order to get rid of this over-reliance, China has been actively exploring other sources of iron ore for many years. Large-scale steel companies such as Sinosteel, Shougang Group, Baowu Group have also set up multiple iron ore sources in Peru, Lion Rock, and Liberia. China directly manages the mine.
Avoid being affected by external premiums,China’s largest steel producerBaowu Group is also planning to build the largest in the world in Guinea, Africa.Simandouiron ore.In addition, oneA consortium backed by Beijing recently won a $14 billion government bid in Guinea to be able to mine in Simandou by 2025.As China continues to expand cooperation with African iron ore companies, it is conceivable that the events in Congo and Cameroon are just the beginning. China’s layout in Africa has increased the bargaining chip used to fight Australia.
Mbalam-Nabeba is located on the border between Kagoshima and Congo. Mbalam is located in the southeast of Kagoshima and Nabeba is in Kagoshima. According to the 2015 exploration report, the iron ore reserves are estimated to be 5.64 billion tons, mainly hematite, with a grade of 33.4%, of which 805 million tons are high-grade iron ore, with a grade of 57.3%, which is a world-class large-scale high-quality open-pit iron mine. Among them, 3.92 billion tons of resources are expected in Cameroon, including 260 million tons of high-grade iron ore.
Who loses more in the China-Australia wrestling?Many people in Australia may be unemployed
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