China's customs says it has introduced a new system designed to speed up customs clearance for some imported mineral ores, including iron ore, at the country's ports.
The mineral cargoes can now first be unloaded from vessels and moved to a laboratory for inspection, in a break from the previous onboard inspection system.
The new system, dubbed "first release, then inspect," applies to iron, chromium and manganese ore, as well as lead and zinc ore and concentrate, the General Administration of Customs said on its official Weibo account on Monday.
China is the world's biggest importer of iron ore, which is used to make steel.
The new system will not apply to cargoes with excessive radioactivity, inconsistent certification or those suspected of being mixed with solid waste, customs said.
(Reporting by Tom Daly and Muyu Xu; editing by Richard Pullin)