BEIJING: A unit of top steel producer China Baowu Steel Group has launched a steel scrap processing and production facility with annual capacity of 2.8 million tonnes in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui.

The facility, opened on Monday, has total investment of 440 million yuan ($68.35 million), the Baowu unit, Ouyeel Blockchain Finance and Metal Recycling Resources Co Ltd, said on Tuesday.

The company described the facility as the first "lights out factory" - a term meaning unmanned production - in the metals recycling industry. Procurement, production, sales, settlement, suppliers and operations will all be managed online, it said.

China has enforced new standards for steel scrap this year, reclassifying high-grade scrap to ensure quality of the steelmaking ingredient and allow imports of material meeting new standards to ease reliance on iron ore.

Ouyeel had sealed agreement with Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co on Jan.1 to bring in 3,000 tonnes of high-grade steel scrap from Japan for Baoshan Iron & Steel.