Colleagues from our iron ore team hosted a full-day technical conference in Hangzhou, China with our stakeholders last month. A total of 166 participants attended the conference and in attendance were technical and commercial teams from BaoWu Group, HBIS, Valin Group etc, representing steel mills, together with iron ore traders, universities, and iron ore quality inspectors. The aim of this technical conference – our first since the pandemic – was to showcase our high-grade iron ore portfolio, which helps with decarbonising steelmaking.
China produces more than half of the world’s steel and is one of the most important iron ore market. Anglo American has been supplying iron ore to China for more than 40 years – first from Kumba’s mines in South Africa and in the last 10 years, also from our Minas-Rio mine in Brazil. The conference was a key opportunity for us to share about our product quality, our solutions to reduce carbon footprint with our iron ore products, as well as to reconnect and nurture key relationships with customers.
Christina Cheong, Head of ISOP (IOB), Technical Marketing and Strategy, said,
“The timing of the conference was right as our last technical conference was held more than five years ago. Since then, our portfolio of Minas-Rio pellet feed and Kumba lump and fines has expanded to include Anglo American pellets, 3rd party ores and direct reduced (DR) lump.
The DR lump is currently under development for use in Direct Reduced Iron steelmaking which has significantly lower emissions compared to the traditional blast furnace route, which helps our customers meet ever-tighter emissions standards.”
The day started with videos of opening speeches from Matt Walker, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing business as well as Timo Smit, Executive Head of Marketing, Iron Ore and Steelmaking Coal. Both highlighted the importance of long-term, mutually beneficially relationships, working together to shape an industry that is safer, more sustainable and efficient.
Themed speeches by various colleagues from the iron ore team were planned throughout the day. External presentations from Rizhao Steel, China Southern University and Anhui University of Technology were also included, which helped provide a balanced view which our participants appreciated. From sharings about our iron ore production and products portfolio, to the application of Kumba’s premium lump and Anglo American pellet in direct reduction steelmaking – it was a day filled with fruitful discussions.
We also took the opportunity to share our integrated approach to sustainability and commitment to transparency in striving for the highest levels of responsible mining, which has seen us achieve the IRMA 75 level of performance for all three iron ore mines – Sishen and Kolomela in South Africa, and Minas-Rio in Brazil.
Representatives shared that the conference helped them gain a deeper understanding about our iron ore products, as well as our efforts in striving for high quality iron ore. We had various customers increase their purchase volumes following the conference, a nod of acknowledgment of our iron ore product being recognised as a reliable, high-quality offering. We even secured sales of Kumba Fines to a new customer and a 3rd party cargo from the technical conference, an achievement we are very proud of.
Carol Lee, Sales Manager for China said,
“The technical conference provided a good opportunity for us to meet our customers to communicate our operations and portfolio, and for them to meet other participants to share their experiences. Our customers benefitted from the session, and many have indicated intention for us to organise one every year.”
The day ended with a scenic and relaxing river cruise down Qiantang river, where the team continued to build relationships and conversations against the tranquil backdrop. It was a successful event and we look forward to the next technical conference, and to meet more of our customers around the region.