China curbs steel production for the third year + Australia needs more minerals mining knowledge

China continues to slash crude steel production: China is likely to cut its crude steel output for the third year in a row in 2023 in a bid to taper down carbon emissions, Bloomberg reports, citing a source familiar with government plans. Steel production is the country’s second-largest carbon-intensive sector, generating some 1.5 bn tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020. Since 2020, the country has been scaling back its production volumes, pushing output down some 40 mn tons y-o-y in 2021 and 21.7 mn tons y-o-y in 2022, according to S&P Global.

Australian, Korean research institutes work on minerals extraction: The Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia inked a preliminary knowledge transfer agreement with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources as it looks to build its minerals production and export capacity, Reuters reports. Last month, the government of Western Australia signed an agreement with South Korea’s Trade Ministry to explore joint development ventures in the clean energy sector, with a focus on green hydrogen projects.