Liberty said it “is not idling the facility,” and will resume operations when markets recover.

“We see infrastructure for instance is still growing strongly in China,” he said, adding that manufacturing is also “performing pretty well in China”.

Queensland could also complicate a deal.

Imports of iron-ore by China, the world's biggest buyer, in 2024 are expected to be around 1.17-billion to 1.18-billion metric tons, similar to last year's 1.18-billion tons, a senior official of miner Vale said on Wednesday.

This new route, operated by 12 vessels with a capacity of 14,000 standard containers each, will run on a weekly basis.

With efforts from both sides, the factory gradually emerged from its crisis.

JSIS is commissioning three new facilities, a new 0xygen plant,Submerged Arc Furnace and the 6 million TPA Pellet which will make it one of the most integrated steel plants in the region.

Recent data from the American lron and Steel Institute (AISI) shows a slight week-over-week increase in U.S. crude steel production for the week ending May 4