According to Austrade, within five years it is expected mining mechanisation will reach 95%. Small and medium-sized mines tend to opt for cheaper, domestically made equipment, while large mines have looked internationally for their equipment.
The Shenhua Group, for example, has imported nearly 90% of its equipment. International OEMs taking advantage of this include Joy Global, DBT, Eikhoff and Sandvik Mining and Construction, which have all set up offices in China. But they have plenty of competition from domestic suppliers.
“Domestic coal enterprises are encouraged by Chinese government to buy mining machinery made in China, the reason for which, apart from the consideration of protecting national industry, lies in the fact that imported mining equipment are generally two or three times more expensive than domestic ones.
Therefore, the foreign manufactures may be technically superior, but the price is the inevitable challenge they must face,” Austrade said in its Coal Mine Investment Projects in China report.
With 90% of mining activity in the country based on underground coal mining, there is plenty of demand for mechanised equipment. Austrade estimated that from 2004 to 2020, 30 sets of complete machinery for fully mechanised working faces and 50 sets of complete machinery for conventional machine work faces will be added. Annually renewed equipment takes about one-sixth of the existing amount.
According to gross prediction, the total demand for complete mining machinery in 2010 will reach about 500 sets.
For fully mechanised driving equipment the deployment still remains low at 13%. “Despite great improvement of roadheaders, the difference between the overall technical level in China and that of the internationally advanced level still remains,” Austrade said.
For the next five years, it is expected 150–180 sets of various mine hoists may be in demand every year.
