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Although the development of the domestic steel industry in the nineties is not as crazy as after 02, and the dependence on the iron ore resources of Western Australia is not high, it does not mean that the domestic steel industry has nothing to do with the iron ore resources of Western Australia. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

As early as 88 years, China Zhijin Import & Export Corporation opened a joint venture with Australia's Hamersley Iron Ore Company (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, the world's third largest miner in Western Australia) to open China's first overseas resource investment project - Chana Iron Mine, in which China has a 40% interest.

More than 3 million tons of iron ore imported from Western Australia to China every year are almost all supplied by Chana Iron Mine, for which China National Metallurgical Import and Export Corporation has set up a branch in Perth, and the Australian company is responsible for related matters.

It is a pity that the pace of expansion of overseas iron ore resources of China Metallurgical Corporation has taken this rare first step in eight or eight years, but it has stagnated for nearly 20 years, and it has not been until a few years later that the neck of the domestic steel industry has been strangled by international miners before thinking of the next step of overseas resource layout.

Zhang Ke looked at Jia Zhiyi with blazing eyes, he had already got Jia Zhiyi's detailed materials, the forty-six-year-old Jia Zhiyi should also be regarded as a capable official in the context of the country, even if the Zhongzhi Corporation has no intention of further expanding the layout of iron ore resources in Western Australia, he is also actively promoting the annual output of Chana iron ore from the current three million tons to ten million tons.

Huang Mingsheng, Economic Counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in Perth, saw that Jia Zhiyi, the general manager of MCC Australia, admired Zhang Ke and the look on Zhang Ke's face was calm, and he felt very strange, but it was inconvenient to ask on the spot.

Jia Zhiyi seemed to guess the doubts in Huang Mingsheng's heart, and said with a smile: "Counselor Huang just told me about the wonders of Huaxi Mining after its establishment, do you know who is the initiator of Huaxi Mining?" ”

"Isn't it you MCC?" Huang Mingsheng asked.

"......" Jia Zhiyi laughed and said to Zhang Ke and Ye Jianbin, "MCC is really the great light of Kumho, and no one outside knows that you Kumho is the real initiator of Huaxi." ”

Zhang Ke smiled and said: "What can enjoy the benefits is real, and we don't care too much about things on the bright side." ”

Jia Zhiyi said to Huang Mingsheng: "There are some things that have not been publicized by the media, in fact, Kumho is also one of the main shareholders of Huaxi Mining, the establishment of Huaxi Mining is the first to be advocated by Kumho, this pass, assist is completed by Kumho, China Metallurgical Corporation is just a kick at the end of the door......"

"The kick at the door is the most eye-catching," Ye Jianbin said with a smile, "Mr. Jia also likes football?" ”

Zhang Ke touched his nose, Ye Jianbin was half a football fan, and even offered to sponsor a football team, Zhang Ke told him that he would rather sponsor the women's football team than the men's football team, Ye Jianbin thought about it before giving up.

Huang Mingsheng's news in Perth is indeed a bit closed, 94 years to Perth to serve as an economic counselor has not returned to China so far, and the economic affairs between China and Perth are really Liaoliao, his most common job at present is to participate in the activities of the local Chinese and overseas Chinese associations, in addition to self-cultivation, the business is inevitably a little slack, the understanding of the domestic economy is not even as good as the management of overseas companies, and even think that the famous Aida Group and Kumho Corporation are two completely unrelated companies.

As for the scale of Kumho Commercial, Huang Mingsheng did not have an intuitive understanding, and it was enough to know that Ye Jianbin was the nephew of Ye Zhenmin, deputy secretary of the party group and vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, his immediate boss.

Of course, Huang Mingsheng also knows about Huaxi Mining, and Xinhua Internal Reference has reported on the integration of Huaxi Mining's domestic rare earth industry on the whole page.

In the 516 case and the Zhangzhou case, the central and local governments strengthened the rectification of the rare earth industry, coupled with the establishment of Huaxi and the strict restrictions on foreign investment in the rare earth smelting industry, which caused the price of light rare earth in the international market to more than double in one year, and the price of heavy rare earth increased even more bizarrely, increasing nearly three times. This is the first increase after China liberalized the export volume of rare earths in 96 years and the international rare earth prices continued to decline, but it rose to the point of surprise. In the case of the actual export volume of rare earths reduced by nearly half, foreign exchange earnings increased instead of falling.

After the establishment of Huaxi Mining, the central government designated China Metallurgical Corporation to integrate the middle and upper reaches of the rare earth industry with the local government, and planned to form two major rare earth industrial groups in the south and north to complete the monopoly layout of the entire rare earth industry.

In terms of internal and external publicity, Kumho is to be deliberately ignored.

The domestic basic resources and energy industry is either completely closed and only state-owned capital is allowed to enter, or there is a restricted opening to non-public capital, and there is no reason to open up only one private capital -- the process of Kumho's participation in the operation of Huaxi Mining is very tortuous and the situation is very special, and of course it cannot be announced to give the public an inappropriate illusion.

Huang Mingsheng also knew that the nature of Huaxi Mining was not ordinary, and he thought that Kumho was both the initiator and the shareholder, and the relationship behind this was really not ordinary. He habitually thought about personal connections, and wondered in his heart, can he do this with Minister Ye Zhenmin's ability? But they didn't think about how much of a role Kumho played in the establishment of Huaxi. In fact, although Kumho only holds a 12% stake in Huaxi, its influence on Huaxi is greater than that of the nominal promoter of Huaxi, China Metallurgical Corporation.

Although he knew more about Kumho, he did not run to the gate of the Consulate General to pick up Zhang Ke, Ye Jianbin and others.

In addition to the representatives of local Chinese and overseas Chinese, there were also representatives of some Chinese-funded institutions or traders in Perth, who were very enthusiastic when they saw Jia Zhiyi.

Although the domestic steel industry is not highly dependent on Western Australia's iron ore resources, domestic far-sighted steel mills and iron ore traders have set up offices in Perth to engage in iron ore trading business. Chinese traders are not uncommon in Perth, but they can't compare to the flourishing of Chinese iron ore traders everywhere in Perth three years after '03.

Since the domestic iron ore imported from Western Australia mainly comes from the Chana iron ore mine in which MCC Australia participates in the joint venture, these traders naturally regard Jia Zhiyi, the general manager of MCC Australia, as a reborn parent.

In the case that a large number of mining areas and railways, seaports and other logistics channels are controlled by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, as well as the Japanese chaebol, it is impossible to obtain excess profits from simply engaging in iron ore trade, and it is also necessary to bear certain risks, but it is better than nothing, and it is always a good thing that domestic iron ore procurement can be extended to Western Australia.

At the banquet at noon, although Zhang Ke and Ye Jianbin were the guests of honor, Jia Zhiyi became the protagonist when he went to the restaurant.

Zhang Ke and Ye Jianbin also had a headache to deal with too many people, so they sat down with Zhang Shu and the consul general to talk about some serious things, and Jia Zhiyi and Huang Mingsheng coped with it for a while before returning to the main table.

"Thank you Consul Zhang for organizing such a luncheon, so that Kumho has the opportunity to meet and talk with the Chinese and overseas Chinese in Perth and representatives of Chinese-funded institutions," Zhang Ke introduced the people on his side to Zhang Shuhe, in addition to Ye Jianbin, Sun Jingxiang, Zhai Danqing, Kumho Commercial and Nanyang Shipping have set up offices in Perth, and the relevant persons in charge attended the banquet with him, and he straightforwardly told Zhang Shuhe, Jia Zhiyi, and Huang Mingsheng about their initial intentions for this trip, "We came here this time to conduct a business investigation in Western Australia, After the completion of the 10 million tons of steel industry base in Xinting, the demand for high-quality iron ore raw materials will increase to 25 million tons after the complete integration of Dongshan Iron and Steel and Donghai Iron and Steel, and we hope that Western Australia can provide at least 10 million tons of ......"

Of course, Zhang Ke's ambitions are far more than 10 million tons, but in the 99 years when the total annual output of iron ore in Western Australia was less than 100 million tons, prematurely exposing the ambitious ambitions of the target will make Chinese officials question it, and it will also prematurely cause a resolute counterattack by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and the Japanese chaebols.

Even if it is only a target of 10 million tons, it is enough to widen the eyes of the Chinese officials at the table.

Jia Zhiyi's eyes only lit up, MCC has been operating in Western Australia for 11 years, the annual output of Chana iron ore is only three million tons, he tried his best to persuade the head office to expand the investment in Chana iron ore to increase the annual output to 10 million tons, the head office hesitated for more than a year, did not make a final decision, Kumho first came to Perth to quote the amount of 10 million tons, this appetite is really amazing.

Jia Zhiyi can be said to know the domestic steel industry well, at least for now, the raw material import rights of Donghai United Iron and Steel and the future 10-million-ton steel industry base have not been assigned to Kumho Corporation; In fact, Kumho Shoji's iron ore import quota is only 1.8 million tons of iron ore from the Dongshan Iron and Steel Plant.

Jia Zhiyi asked: "Kumho really wants to import 10 million tons of iron ore from Western Australia every year, it seems that it should go to Rio Tinto or BHP Billiton to talk...... Even if the annual output of the Chana iron ore mine reaches 10 million tons, I don't think anyone in China Metallurgical Corporation will be able to supply the 10 million tons to Kumho. ”

The traders sitting at the table next to them all stood up, the iron ore of the Chana Iron Mine was going to be wrapped up for others, and they could only drink the northwest wind if they stayed in Perth, and they had to pat their butts and return home.

Zhang Ke smiled slightly and said: "The 10 million tons we need do not account for the amount of Chana iron ore, nor do we cooperate with Rio Tinto or BHP Billiton, we want to invest in establishing our own supply base.........

Zhang Ke's words were like a boulder thrown into the lake, and it immediately stirred up a thousand waves.

Consul General Zhang Shuhe, Economic Counselor Huang Mingsheng, General Manager of MCC Australia Jia Zhiyi and others did not speak, but invariably turned their eyes away, and the people at the other tables immediately began to discuss, all of them were skeptical and disbelieving, and some people even chuckled disdainfully, just as Zhang Ke bragged here.

Jia Zhiyi also suspects that Zhang Ke does not know what the concept of investing in the construction of 10 million tons of iron ore supply base in Western Australia is, but it is inconvenient to question it face to face, even if Zhang Ke bragged here and put forward a grand and unrealistic goal, everyone should join in the fun.

Jia Zhiyi will never poke his mouth in public, but not all the guests attending the banquet will take care of other people's face, and someone immediately stood up and said: "Do you know how much the annual throughput capacity of Western Australia's seaport is?" Do you know what is the annual rail capacity from the Western Australian mine to the seaport? The iron ore production capacity of the subsidiaries of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in Western Australia has almost squeezed the capacity of Western Australia's seaports and rail transportation. Unless your workers are strong men, who can throw ore from the WA mines across the sea with their bare hands, otherwise ......"

"What he said is funny," Jia Zhiyi smiled, wanting to help Zhang Ke resolve the embarrassment, explaining, "MCC has always wanted to increase the annual output of Chana iron ore from three million tons to ten million tons, but this is not only a matter of increasing investment in the mining area, but how to coordinate and solve the increase of seven million tons of transportation capacity." Even if the 60% interest in the Chana iron mine is greatly expanded, it will still be very difficult to increase the capacity of another 7 million tons. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and the chaebol forces behind the two miners are almost all controlled by the existing mining railways and deep-water iron ore terminals in Western Australia, and unless Kumho's demand for 10 million tons of iron ore is purchased from them, it will be difficult to transport it from the railway lines and terminals they control - the railways and ports in Western Australia are all privately invested. ”

A middle-aged man with a more loyal face also came over and explained: "We businessmen mainly rely on MCC to make a living - there are so many mining companies in Western Australia and South Australia, why don't we just go to the mining area and purchase directly?" The main thing is that the transportation problem cannot be solved. The two major miners have a tight control over the logistics system, and as long as it is just enough to meet their transportation needs, they will not expand their railway networks and ports. The Channe iron ore mine plans to increase production by 7 million tons, and if it adds 10 million tons, it will exceed the current capacity capacity - the problem is not as simple as you think. We have also heard that Kumho Corporation's investment in China is very large, and Dongshan Iron & Steel Company and Kumho Corporation's investment is 200 million US dollars...... But in Western Australia, $200 million can only be a big trader...... No," the middle-aged man pointed to the middle-aged man sitting in the corner of the restaurant, "He is a representative of Chenggang, which is also a large private enterprise in China, with assets of tens of billions, and he sent a representative to Western Australia last year to build an iron ore supply base......

Zhang Ke glanced at Ye Jianbin , when they came in, the people in the restaurant were all around Jia Zhiyi, and at this time they all thought that they were just ordinary representatives sent to Perth by Kumho Corporation.

Of course, these iron ore traders, with the exception of trade representatives from state-owned steel mills, are rich in money and billionaires, and they speak in a casual manner, and they don't frighten Kumho's name - in fact, Kumho's name is not well-known, and there is a lot of mystery in the eyes of some people who know a little bit about it.

Zhang Ke stood up and said to the middle-aged man who helped explain the inner Qu Ao: "We also know that it is very difficult to invest in the iron ore base, and the Consulate General is also very enthusiastic to invite everyone over, and we also hope that everyone will help to make suggestions, and even go further, and work together to promote this matter - we plan to come up with 10 to 1.5 billion US dollars to invest in this 10 million tons of iron ore supply base, of course, it is somewhat inaccurate to say that the supply base is ......."

"Uh......" The middle-aged man was slightly stunned, he was going to organize some language to teach the Kumho business representative who didn't know how to tell the sky, he just suspected that Kumho did not fully consider the difficulty of investing in iron ore, but at this time he looked at Zhang Ke wrongly, and he didn't know how to continue.

Jia Zhiyi listened to it next to him, stood up happily and asked, "Kumho wants to invest in the construction of ports and railway lines in Western Australia?" ”

"To break through the blockade of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, we can only invest in the construction of ports and railway lines, and the investment of 10 to 1.5 billion US dollars is somewhat difficult to build the main line, and we only invest in the construction of branch lines with a capacity of 10 million tons, and the problem is still not big......" Zhang Ke sat down indifferently at this time, "Of course, we must first find the mining area before we can determine the location of the construction of the port and railway branch line, and many things need everyone's help." ”

There are also a few people with a net worth of more than 100 million yuan, but to build a complete supply chain, even China Metallurgical Corporation has no extravagant expectations.

10 million tons of high-quality iron ore can only supply 6 million tons of raw materials for steel mills, and investing in a 6 million ton steel mill can save some money and only need 2 billion US dollars to build, but Kumho Shoji is so extravagant that it has to spend 10 to 1.5 billion US dollars to build a raw iron ore supply cloth?

The interests of investing in steel mills in China are also extremely high, and it is not their own territory to get to Western Australia, and how can those chaebol giants easily let people take food from the crocodile, according to the idea of ordinary people, Kumho really has this financial resources, it is better to invest in the construction of steel mills in China.

Zhang Ke's words made the people present both shocked and puzzled, but the previous contempt and suspicion of Kumho was gone.

Zhang Ke does not know how much fertile land is left after the division of the Pilbara region, the main iron ore producing area in Western Australia, to Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, and the public information shows that the two major miners have almost roughly plowed the land in the area, but four years later, FMG was able to explore a huge amount of iron ore resources under the noses of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, and quickly grew into the third largest iron ore merchant in Australia in the area abandoned by the two major miners in the Pilbara. This shows that there are still a lot of iron ore resources in the Pilbara region that Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have missed - the re-exploration of geological resources in the same area is the norm in the industry.

Kumho's job is to publicly acquire an Australian iron ore company and maximize the number of exploration rights in the Pilbara region for iron ore exploration.

There will be less resistance to investing in exploration in areas that Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have initially explored and abandoned, with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton letting their guard down, and local governments hoping that companies will conduct deeper exploration in these areas, and exploration rights for large areas will be easily issued.

Once the exploration of iron ore resources, it is necessary to quickly invest a huge amount of money in the infrastructure construction of mines, railways and ports, MCC Australia has invested in Chana iron ore in Western Australia for ten years, and has rich experience in mine construction and operation, and will be a good collaborator.

Even if an Australian iron ore company is acquired, the actual exploration of the mining area still needs to be carried out by an exploration company in the metallurgical system, or even the entire project can be dismantled into multiple parts to cooperate with domestic enterprises in the form of joint ventures. In this way, since the problems existing in engineering technology are solved, the financial pressure can also be alleviated. After all, Kumho Shanghu currently has less than $1 billion in funds, and it will spend more than $2 billion in the next few years.

Behind the iron ore traders who attended the banquet today are almost all steel mills of different sizes in China, and even if they do not provide much help in the construction of infrastructure projects, the capital power behind them is extremely huge.

It is these capital forces that have pushed China's annual steel output from 100 million tons to 200 million tons, 300 million tons, 400 million tons, 500 million tons, and even 600 million tons, so that China's steel production is more than the second to eighth countries combined.

A production capacity of 10 million tons represents an investment of 25 billion to 35 billion yuan, and a production capacity of 600 million tons means a total capital of more than 1.5 trillion yuan.

The luncheon was followed by a networking event, and Zhang Ke's speech at the table really gave a strong shock to the people present today.

As of 99 years, the country's largest overseas resource investment project is the Chana iron mine in Western Australia, with a total investment of only 420 million US dollars, of which China Metallurgical Corporation has borne 40%, about less than 170 million US dollars, and Kumho is about to spread out a large stall of 1 billion to 1.5 billion US dollars in Western Australia, which can be imagined the strength of its shock.

They only suspected that Kumho did not take into account the arduousness of investing in iron ore in Western Australia, but after Zhang Ke reported the investment estimate, they no longer doubted it - before Jia Zhiyi also introduced the identity of Ye Jianbin and was the president of Kumho Corporation, not an ordinary business representative -- they were all industry insiders, and they had also heard a little about Kumho Corporation's participation in the construction of Xinting Dongshan Port, as a comprehensive super-large seaport, the infrastructure investment exceeded 2.5 billion US dollars, so naturally there was no need to doubt Kumho's ability to organize 10 to 1.5 billion US dollars. Jia Zhiyi also couldn't figure out Zhang Ke's specific identity, and vaguely introduced the past, but Zhang Ke and Ye Jianbin took this opportunity to officially introduce Zhai Danqing's identity as the chief representative of Kumho Commercial in Australia to Chinese businessmen in Perth.