China lifts partial ban on iron-ore buys from Australia's Hancock, sources say
BEIJING - China's state buyer has allowed its steel mills to resume buying a type of iron-ore from Australia's Hancock Prospecting after barring such sales during a year-plus negotiation dispute, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) told steelmakers last month that they could again buy MB fines, a type of iron ore, from Hancock, lifting a ban that had not previously been reported.
Chinese steel mills had been barred from buying MB fines from the world's fifth-largest iron ore miner since early 2024, when negotiations over CMRG becoming the exclusive seller in China for Roy Hill, now part of Hancock, stalled, two of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the topic's sensitivity.
CMRG and Hancock did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.
CMRG was set up in 2022 to consolidate China's hundreds of steel mills behind a single buyer and win better prices from the handful of iron ore mining giants.
Larger rival BHP has also faced tough negotiations with CMRG. Chinese steel mills and traders are barred from buying certain BHP cargoes, sources have said, although some other grades are still changing hands.
None of the sources said whether CMRG and Hancock had reached a final agreement in their dispute. However, the third source said that CMRG is now the only authorised seller of the miner's ore in China.
Previously, the West Australia-based miner sold cargoes to regular clients in China including two large traders and several steelmakers, multiple industry sources told Reuters.
Hancock iron ore was formed in July after the merger of Roy Hill and Atlas Iron and has combined annual production capacity of 74 million metric tons.
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