Trading for bauxite mine rights in North China's Shanxi has been brisk this year. Nine deals for exploration and exploitation rights have been completed so far in 2025, with a combined transaction value exceeding Yuan 24.9 billion ($3.5 billion), according to auction results released on the province's online natural resources trading platform.
Shanxi is among China's richest regions for bauxite resources and a major hub for alumina production, with proven bauxite reserves accounting for over 40% of the national total, Mysteel Global has learned.
A recent auction took place on September 9, when a ductile cast iron pipe manufacturer based in Shanxi's Linfen city secured exploration rights for the Guangdaoling bauxite mine in the city's Fenxi county with a winning bid of Yuan 3.2 billion.
The Guangdaoling bauxite mine covers 10.8 square kilometers and will be transferred for a five-year term with a yield rate of 1.2%, the results showed. The project includes bauxite and associated minerals. The auction started at Yuan 1 million but closed at a final price more than 3,200 times higher.
The winning bidder, Yicheng Feixiang Ductile Iron Pipe Co., Ltd., was founded in August 2002 with a registered capital of Yuan 120 million, according to publicly available information. Its main businesses include pig iron smelting, casting, and thermal power generation.
The highest bid for bauxite exploration rights in Shanxi so far this year was recorded on August 7, when Shanghai Ruiyelian Industrial Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Ruiganglian Group, secured exploration rights for a bauxite block in Xiaoyi city for Yuan 5.41 billion, Mysteel Global noted.