Guangdong Province-based Chinese steelmaker Shaogang Iron and Steel Co., a subsidiary of domestic steel giant Baosteel, has announced that currently it is using imported iron ore pellets instead of scrap for steel smelting.

　　Shaogang Steel stated that, through the application of iron ore pellets in steelmaking, its production costs have decreased by RMB 20/mt ($3.15/mt). Meanwhile, oxygen consumption has decreased by 210 m³per metric ton of steel produced.