Recently, according to foreign media, Nippon Iron is seeking to buy more shares of coking coal enterprises to ensure the stable supply of key raw materials.

At present, Nippon Iron has invested in many coking coal mines and iron ore enterprises. Nippon Iron imports about 27 million tons of coking coal and 58 million tons of iron ore each year. Through the way of shareholding, Nippon Iron acquires about 20% of the company's total annual mineral resources.

In an interview with foreign media, Mori Longhong, executive vice president of Nippon Steel, said: "There is no need to stop at 20%. Nippon Steel is considering improving the self-sufficiency rate of raw materials and fuels by purchasing the rights and interests of raw materials (assets). The raw materials and fuels obtained in this way are of high economic efficiency and quality for the development of Nippon Steel."

Foreign media said that for Nippon Iron, it is more urgent to invest in coking coal projects than iron ore projects. Because western countries imposed sanctions on Russia due to geopolitical conflicts, the supply of coking coal and other bulk commodities became increasingly tense. It is expected that the price of iron ore will rise with the increase of steel demand, but the coking coal price may remain high due to the rise of steam coal price and the reduction of global investment in new coal mine projects to cope with climate change. In addition, there has been a global decarbonization boom, and the barriers to mining investment have increased. However, even after carbon neutralization by 2050, steel production activities still need coking coal.

From April to September this year, the net profit of Nippon Iron increased by 25% to 372 billion yen (about 2.7 billion dollars), due to the increase in inventory valuation and product prices, and the increase in the share of its upstream assets helped to offset the increase in raw material costs.

Nippon Iron hopes to ensure the growth of profits next year by further reducing the cost of conversion and increasing the output of high-value-added products. (Kang Jungang)

China Metallurgical Daily (December 9, 2022, 2nd edition)

来源：中国冶金报-中国钢铁新闻网