Baosteel Shares recently released its October product price list, which for the first time includes products from Zhanjiang Iron and Steel. This means that Zhanjiang Iron and Steel will begin producing and accepting pre-orders for its products starting in October. A Baosteel representative stated that Zhanjiang Iron and Steel’s No. 1 blast furnace will be officially ignited on September 25, and the products produced in October will be pilot production runs. The full-scale operation of the first-phase project is expected to commence in June of next year.

Baosteel Shares recently released its October product price list, which shows that hot-rolled steel produced in Zhanjiang is now available for order. The pricing is based on SS4003*1250*C, with a benchmark price of 2,200 yuan per ton, and an order discount of 160 yuan per ton is offered. This marks the first time that Baosteel’s monthly price list includes products from Zhanjiang.

Baosteel officials stated that the corresponding hot-rolled products are trial production items undergoing “hot-state commissioning” following the blast furnace’s ignition. They revealed that No. 1 blast furnace at Zhanjiang Iron and Steel will be ignited on September 25. Generally speaking, the ignition of a blast furnace marks the transition of an iron and steel project into the production and operational phase.

It is reported that the Zhanjiang Steel project received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission on May 24, 2012. On May 31 of the same year, Zhanjiang Steel held its groundbreaking ceremony. The following May, the blast furnace construction project was officially launched, marking the start of Zhanjiang Steel’s full-scale construction phase. A Baosteel representative once revealed to NetEase Finance that the investment in the Zhanjiang project would be kept around 50 billion yuan—significantly lower than the originally approved estimate of 70 billion yuan—and that the corresponding construction schedule would be accelerated accordingly.

It’s worth noting that the prices of the hot-rolled products from the aforementioned Zhanjiang Iron and Steel are considerably higher than market prices. Some analysts speculate that these products are pilot-production items, possibly offered at significant discounts or handled on a case-by-case basis.