ERG to boost iron ore sales to China as traditional markets shrink

The Kazakh iron ore unit of mining and metals conglomerate Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) is increasing exports to China to offset declining demand in the former Soviet Union, the company said on Wednesday.

Chinese consumers have confirmed they are ready to buy additional volumes of ore, ERG said in a statement without identifying any buyers.

Exports to China have increased to 700,000 tonnes in the first quarter from 441,000 tonnes a year earlier, it said. That is still much less than the volumes sold to Russia, which stood at 2 million tonnes in the first quarter.

Apart from Russia and China, ERG sells iron ore on the Kazakh market where its main buyer is the local unit of Arcelor Mittal.

Industry minister Baibut Atamkulov said at a government meeting on Tuesday that Arcelor Mittal was also looking to diversify its sales, but provided no detail. The company did not reply to a request for immediate comment.

(By Mariya Gordeyeva and Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jason Neely)