China's Shougang to open new steel mill in May - Xinhua

China's Shougang Group will open its new steel mill on the northern Chinese coast this month that will make 4.85 million tonnes a year, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Trial production will start on May 20 at the new mill in Caofeidian, on the coast of northern Hebei province, which has a total designed capacity of 9.7 million tonnes, Xinhua said in report on www.xinhuanet.com.

The firm aims to reach the designed capacity by 2010, at which time it will also produce 8.98 million tonnes of iron and 9.13 million tonnes of steel products, the report said.

China, the world's largest steel producer, is facing weakening domestic demand and falling prices that have pushed nearly half of its major mills into the red in March.

Shougang Group is the parent of Shenzhen-listed Shougang Iron and Steel (000959.SZ), China's sixth largest steel maker.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssSteel/idUSPEK5647320090502