WEEKLY: China mines' iron ore output drops further, stocks rise

Production of iron ore concentrates among Chinese mining enterprises continued falling last week as the year-end approaches, with more mills suspending their production for annual maintenance, Mysteel's latest survey showed.

The daily output of iron ore concs by the 186 domestic mining companies under Mysteel's regular tracking decreased for the second straight week by another 6,000 tonnes/day or 1.3% on week to 464,200 t/d during December 20-26. Over the same period, the capacity utilization rates among these sampled miners averaged