Iron Ore Giants Forge Deeper Ties with Baowu
World’s 3 iron ore giants BHP, Vale and Rio Tinto Chief Executives visited Baowu in Shanghai to discuss potential cooperation opportunities and challenges in the mining and steel industry, as well as to exchange views on the global economic outlook. Baowu's Chairman, Mr. Chen Derong, met with BHP's CEO, Mr. Mike Henry, and his delegation on March 28, followed by a meeting with Vale's CEO, Mr. Eduardo Bartolomeo, and a delegation led by Rio Tinto CEO Mr. Jakob Stausholm on March 31. During the meetings, the executives discussed the current development of their companies and the industry situation, as well as future cooperation opportunities in carbon reduction technology and business under the background of carbon neutrality.
"Baowu is fully committed to achieving low-carbon transformation and green development, in line with the recent speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at the UN General Assembly. As a leading company in the steel industry, we recognize the significant disruption that low-carbon technologies and green development present to the traditional value chain. Therefore, we are taking an active role in implementing these technologies and working closely with our upstream and downstream partners to achieve a sustainable transition. Furthermore, I want to emphasize that Baowu's demand for iron ore will increase in the future, based on our development strategy. We will continue to promote joint reorganization and increase industrial concentration to improve the industry's order and standardize small and scattered industries. Moreover, countries and regions along the 'Belt and Road' offer huge potential for per capita steel consumption, and we plan to implement the national initiative and 'go out' to promote international layout," said Mr. Chen Derong, Chairman of China Baowu.
"As a leading mining company committed to sustainability, BHP is pleased to collaborate with China Baowu to develop innovative solutions that can help achieve our shared goal of reducing emissions and promoting green development. We recognize the potential of low carbon fuel sources like hydrogen injection in blast furnaces and other low emission options to support the steel industry's transition to a more sustainable future. Through our partnership with Baowu, we aim to develop technical solutions that leverage these technologies and contribute to the low carbon transformation of the steel industry,” said Mr. Mike Henry, CEO of BHP.
According to Mr. JS Jacques, Rio Tinto's Chief Executive, the investment partnership with Baowu is of great significance, as it has the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions associated with current steelmaking processes. He stressed the importance of developing future technologies to support the steel industry's transition towards a low-carbon economy. Mr. Jacques also highlighted the value of the partnership in sharing resources and utilizing the strengths of the respective teams to make progress towards establishing a low-carbon steel value chain.
Vale's CEO, Bo Anduo, expressed his appreciation for Baowu's long-term support and stated that “I would like to express my gratitude to Baowu for its long-term support to Vale, especially as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our first shipment of iron ore to China. Vale is committed to promoting green and low-carbon development, and we are continuously reducing our carbon footprint. Baowu is the world's largest steel company, and we highly value our cooperation with them. Moving forward, we hope to strengthen our communication and collaboration, discuss specific projects, expand our cooperation areas, innovate our methods, deepen our relations, and achieve a new level of cooperation. As the chairman and CEO of Vale, I am willing to work with Baowu's leadership team, representatives of the production and operation department, and other related personnel to jointly participate in and promote this plan."