China's transport ministry is expecting a big fall in travel during the lunar new year period.

China also added a net 1.2GW of nuclear capacity to 49.9GW, 12.1GW of hydro to 370.2GW and 55.6GW of thermal capacity to 1,245GW.

The country produced 30.14mn t of crude stainless steel in 2020, up by 2.51pc from 2019.

China imported 3.57mn t of coking coal last month, down by 4pc from 3.72mn t in November.

The state-owned assets supervision and Administration Commission of Yunnan Province plans to transfer its 90% equity of Kunming Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to China Baowu for free.

China Taiyuan coal transaction price index stood at 143.89 points Monday, down 0.12 percent week on week.

The first shipment of iron ore from Sierra Leone's New Tonkolili Iron Ore Project set sail for China from the country's Pepel Port on Friday.

The mining industry remains an important sector for employment, federal Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt said, pointing to a big increase in the number of Australians employed in the sector.