China saved a total of 8.33 million mt copper concentrate resources, through its generation of 1.67 million mt of recycled copper output in 2015 from imported copper scrap last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in its 2016 annual report on the Prevention of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste issued Thursday.
The use of recycled metal resources is to keep in line with the central government's China Manufacturing 2025, a strategic goal to comprehensively upgrade the domestic industry.
Meanwhile, China saved a total of 7.89 million mt bauxite in 2015, through its generation of 1.66 million mt of recycled aluminum output by using imported aluminum scrap last year, figures from MEP showed.
China imported 3.66 million mt copper scrap and 2.087 million mt aluminum scrap in 2015, down 5.59% and 9%, respectively from the 2014 levels, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Figures from MEP showed that China's nonferrous metals sector in 246 cities generated a total of 350 million mt tailings in 2015, stable from 2014.
The domestic nonferrous metals smelting and processing sectors produced metal slag of 32.175 million mt in 2015, with an integrated utilization rate of 75.6%, MEP figures showed.
China's copper, aluminum, nickel sectors at present rely heavily on imported raw materials for production, with import dependence rates of 73%, 45% and 86%, respectively, but due to resource and environment protection constraints, thus making sustainable resources development very difficult, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on its website in October.
MIIT said in recent years, due to policy changes in resource exporting nations and law constraints, so China has faced uncertainties in imported metal resources, impacting the domestic aluminum sector in particular.
Given these, plus the aggravating domestic emissions and heavy metals pollution problems, MIIT has urged the use of recycled metal resources in the 2016-20 period.
