Bonded mixed ore: a culinary feast at Yantai Port

In winter, at Yantai Port, giant ships shuttle back and forth and shore cranes shuttle back and forth. In the bonded yard of Yantai Port, iron ore from major mines around the world, such as Brazil and Peru, is piled up like mountains, resembling continuous reddish brown mountains, creating a spectacular scene.

At the port, huge stacker reclaimers waved their steel arms and traveled back and forth on the tracks. They are not simply transporting, but executing a delicate "cooking" instruction - bonded blending.

Different steel companies have different quality requirements for iron ore, and factors such as iron ore grade, harmful elements, and particle size are all considered in production. Imagine that iron ore from different origins and batches is like different flavors of food, "explained Yu Xianghua, Deputy Director of the Yantai Customs Office in Bajiao, Qingdao Customs, pointing to the busy operation site.

Yu Xianghua introduced that some of the ores imported by the enterprise are high in high-speed rail and sulfur, and some have uneven particle size and high moisture content, while downstream steel mills are like picky eaters. The 'refined grain' required to produce a car exterior panel is completely different from the 'coarse grain' used to forge a heavy machinery shaft. Bonded blending is precisely proportioning different 'ingredients' to create a' standard meal 'that can be directly used in steel mills. Statistics show that in the first 11 months of this year, Yantai completed a total of 12.939 million tons of mixed ore.

It is understood that before this, steel mills imported ores of different grades for secondary mixing, which not only required large storage yards and expensive mixing equipment, but also repeated loading, unloading, and transportation meant a dual loss of time and money. The bonded mixed ore business has moved this crucial "seasoning" process to the forefront of ports. The special supervision policy of customs allows imported ores to undergo physical mixing operations under bonded status.

This is equivalent to moving the mixing workshop of the steel mill yard to the dock, "said Wang Xin, deputy manager of Yantai Haigang International Logistics Co., Ltd." For our steel mill customers, it saves the huge investment and cumbersome process of mixing in the factory, and what they get is' standard meals' that can be directly put into the furnace, greatly improving production efficiency and significantly reducing overall costs. For the port, this is a practical value-added service, and the chain extends upstream by a big step

Thanks to the advantageous geographical location of Chinese ports, efficient logistics system, and convenient bonded policies, steel giants from neighboring countries have also turned their attention to this place. The mixing operations that were originally carried out in one's own country or a third country are now increasingly being transferred to Chinese ports such as Yantai Port. Since the beginning of this year, more than 80% of the nearly 6 million tons of mixed iron ore completed by Yantai Port have been transshipped to overseas enterprises.

With the upgrading of market demand, copper concentrate and gold concentrate have also joined the feast of bonded blending. Mixed gold and copper under bonded status, after blending different qualities of concentrates, have obtained a "pass" to enter the domestic market.

Yu Xianghua introduced that the development of bonded mixed ore business is conducive to enterprises choosing more global mineral resources, effectively responding to international mineral price changes and supply chain uncertainties, and enhancing China's influence in the global commodity market.

From iron ore to copper concentrate and gold concentrate, the bonded blending business of Yantai Port continues to expand its boundaries, not only becoming an important engine for port transformation and upgrading, but also building a green channel connecting global mineral resources and domestic manufacturing enterprises, outlining a new picture of the mineral product supply chain of "buying raw ore globally and selling blended ore globally". (Jiang Ming/Text)