TIANJIN - China, a country hungry for iron ore, is ramping up its mineral exploitation efforts and upgrading its steel-making industrys structure as it deals with its iron-ore supply dilemma. Philadelphia Eagles Jack Lambert Jerseys .China produces more than a third of the worlds steel and imports 68 percent of the worlds steel shipments. But its heavy reliance on iron-ore imports have forced domestic steel mills to accept high prices as they lack clout in annual price negotiations, Jiao Yushu, a consultant for the Metallurgical Mines Association of China said at the ongoing China Mining Congress and Exhibition.Chinas self-sufficiency in iron ore was about 30 percent in 2009, when imports soared to 628 million tons, which was a sharp rise from the 384 million tons it imported in 2007, Jiao noted.The worlds top three iron ore suppliers -- Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton -- which account for 66.5 percent of global iron ore shipments, have monopolized the market and hiked prices, Jiao said.Chinese demand has led to the three miners boosting their iron ore output. The threes combined annual output rose from 400 million tons in 2004 to 600 million tons in 2009. But even as Chinese demand gooses their profits, their appetite for price hikes persists, consistently pressuring Chinese steel mills, Jiao said.To gain a stronger hold in price talks, the three announced plans to shorten the length of the agreements in international iron ore prices, ending the decades-old annual benchmark pricing system.In the first nine months, iron ore price cost about 1,200 yuan ($179) per ton, up 49 percent from a year earlier, said Wang Min, vice minister of the Ministry of Land and Resource.Higher costs have led to thinner profit margins for the countrys steel mills.Data from the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) shows that the average profit margin of the countrys 77 large and medium-sized steel enterprises was 2.84 percent in the January-September period, with the Septembers figure down to 1.16 percent, lower than the average 5 percent of the countrys other industrial enterprises.Moreover, 10 of the 77 steel enterprises reported losses in the first three quarters, totaling 2.39 billion yuan.Facing the gloomy reality, the Chinese government and steel enterprises are strengthening diversity of iron ore supplies. They are also exploring for iron ire deposits in more locations while exploiting domestic deposits. They are also increasingly buying overseas mines to wean themselves off their dependence on imports.Chinas investment in mineral exploration rose 17 percent from 2008 levels to 27 billion yuan in 2009, data from the Ministry of Land and Resources show.Some 5 billion tons of iron ore have been discovered in land resource surveys over the past 12 years, said Xue Yingxi, an official with the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Land and Resource.Domestic iron ore output surged to 880 million tons in 2009 compared with 260 million tons in 2003, according to Jiao.In the first nine months, Chinas domestic iron ore output increased 25.9 percent year-on-year to 780 million tons while iron ore imports declined 2.5 percent from a year earlier to 458 million tons, said Wang Min.The iron ore shortage in China is expected to ease gradually as more domestic deposits are discovered and as Chinese companies acquire overseas mining companies, said Zhou Zhongshu, president of China Minmetals Corp.Zhou added that domestic iron ore output is expected to exceed 1.3 billion tons within three to five years. Shale gas lures oil majors Related readings: Chinas iron ore output to exceed 1.3b tons in 5 yrs Iron ore pricing talks resume Iron ore index falls below $150 as Chinese buying fizzlesTo combat the dominance of the world s big three suppliers, major Chinese steel enterprises like Sinosteel, Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Steel and Angang Steel have invested in Australia to acquire iron-ore mining rights, Jiao said.Stakes in overseas iron ore mines, including those under construction, translate to an annual output of 190 million tons, accounting for 30 percent of the countrys imports, said Zhou. ? ? Meanwhile, the government announced in April further efforts to restructure the steel industry. It said it will shut down outdated steel-making facilities and encourage mergers and acquisitions in the industry to save energy and upgrade the industry.So far, Hebei province, a major steel-making base, has eliminated inefficient steel producers that had an annual production capacity of 10 million tons, according to Zhou.The measures are poised to slash steel output demand and ease tight iron ore supply, said Zeng Jiesheng, a senior analyst with steel information provider Mysteel. Casey Hampton Jerseys The 67-Penalty-Minute Game: Holt is the only player in NHL history to be assessed more penalty minutes than the length of an actual game. 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As it is, the Sharks are now undefeated in five games and 4-2-1 on the marathon 17-day , 10-game trip. Senators 6, Blackhawks 2: Alexei Tomlinson Jerseys The first exhibition game in NHL history was played just four days before the league officially began play, when the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Wanderers played in a benefit game for victims of the Halifax Fire ( which had occurred 10 days earlier) Milosevic might commit suicide (Reuters) Updated: 2006-03-13 10:40 The chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor said on Sunday it was possible Slobodan Milosevic had committed suicide amid a report that the former Yugoslav president may have taken drugs that worsened his health. Supporters of Slobodan Milosevic walk in front of a poster of the late Yugoslav leader in the headquarters of pro-Milosevic support group Freedom in Belgrade March 11, 2006. Milosevic feared he was being poisoned in his detention cell in The Hague, his lawyer Zdenko Tomanovic said on Saturday hours after the tribunal announced Milosevics death. [REUTERS] Dutch scientists concluded an autopsy on Milosevics body, which was found lifeless in his prison cell a day earlier, but did not immediately indicate the cause of death. We are waiting to see if we get the results and will put out a statement if we do, a tribunal spokeswoman said, but did not indicate whether there would be a statement on Sunday. Carla del Ponte said Milosevic may have wanted to thwart the impending verdict in his marathon war crimes trial, which she said would have proved his guilt and sentenced him for life. She noted it was the second death in a week at the Hague tribunals detention center. Former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic took his own life last Sunday. Senior pathologists from Serbia observed the autopsy. The 64-year-old, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure, was found dead only months before a verdict was due in his trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the 1990s. Milosevics lawyer said his client had feared he was being poisoned, but the tribunal rejected his request for the autopsy to take place in Russia, a close ally of the former Yugoslavia and home to Milosevics wife, brother and son. Zdenko Tomanovic, Milosevics lawyer, said his client had written to Russia asking for help a day before his death, stating he had been given the wrong drugs -- including drugs for leprosy -- in an attempt to silence him. Reports emerged indicating Milosevic may have had suspicious traces in his blood or had not been taking medication. A blood sample taken from Milosevic in January -- he made a request on December 12 to go to Russia for treatment -- contained traces of drugs used to treat leprosy or tuberculosis, which can neutralize medicine for high blood pressure and heart problems, Dutch public television NOS reported, quoting an unnamed adviser to the tribunal. Leo Bokeria, head of the Bakulev Cardio-Vascular Surgery Center in Moscow, told Russian television that doctors treating Milosevic in The Hague had suspected he was secretly spitting out the medicines for high blood pressure they gave him. They carriedd out tests to check for the presence of the medicine in his bloodstream because they thought that he was hiding it in his cheeks, he said. Tim Thomas Authentic Jersey. The Bakulev Center had access to Milosevics medical records and last month the tribunal rejected his request to go there for treatment, saying specialists could come to The Hague. JUSTICE DENIED Tribunal president Fausto Pocar said he had ordered a full inquiry and said the Dutch authorities were also investigating. Both Pocar and Del Ponte said they regretted the death. It deprives the victims of the justice they need and deserve, Del Ponte told a news conference in The Hague. Now more than ever I expect Serbia to finally arrest and transfer Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic to the Hague as soon as possible. The death of Slobodan Milosevic makes it even more urgent for them to face justice, she said. Serbia is under pressure to transfer Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic and his military commander Mladic -- like Milosevic both accused of genocide -- to The Hague or jeopardize its hopes of joining the European Union, up for discussion next month. Describing his death as a total defeat, Del Ponte told Italian daily La Repubblica she was furious and believed the approach of a verdict could have prompted him to take his life. Perhaps he wanted to avoid all that, she said. Former Balkan envoy David Owen noted that Milosevics father and mother both killed themselves and said the former Serb strongman might have decided to act before the detention center imposed a closer watch on him as the verdict approached. Milosevic was charged with 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in indictments covering conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo as Yugoslavia imploded. SPECULATION Serbia and Montenegros Minister for Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities, Rasim Ljajic, flew to The Hague on Sunday. Our government expects a fast and effective examination ... to avoid any speculation about the death, he told journalists, adding the toxicological test could take 24 hours. It was not clear whether Milosevics widow Mira Markovic would come to The Hague to collect his body. Compared by some to Lady Macbeth for her influence on her husband, she visited him at the detention center until 2003, when she fled Serbia for Russia to avoid arrest on charges of abusing her power. Milosevics rump Socialist Party said the former president should get a national heros funeral, but apart from a vigil by 100 diehard and mostly elderly supporters at his old party office on Saturday, there was little display of emotion. By contrast, hundreds placed wreaths in Belgrade on the grave of reformist President Zoran Djindjic, who ousted Milosevic and who was assassinated three years ago on Sunday. ' ' '