The
Yandi Mine in Western Australia, was the largest iron ore-producing mine in Australia, producing approximately 80.7 million tonnes of iron ore and an estimated 60.2 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in 2021.
With an ore body 4km-long, 80m-thick and reaching a depth of 2km, LKAB's Kiruna is the world's largest, most modern underground iron ore mine located in northern Sweden.
Source: Office of the Chief Economist. Australia has the world's largest estimated reserves of iron ore with 52 billion tonnes, or 30 per cent of the world's estimated 170 billion tonnes.
What are the biggest iron ore companies listed on the ASX? BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group are the top by market cap. Iron — the world's most commonly used metal — is key for the steel making industry.
After Australia, Brazil is the second biggest producer, with iron ore accounting for 80% of the country's mining exports. Brazil's biggest public company, Vale, is the world's largest producer of iron ore and nickel. The company runs the Carajás mine, the largest iron ore mine in the world.
1. Australia. Australia is the largest country for iron ore mining, and its usable iron ore output was 880 million MT in 2022. Australia's leading iron ore producer is BHP (ASX:BHP,LSE:BHP,NYSE:BHP), but Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG,OTCQX:FSUMF) are also big producers.
Pure hematite contains 69.9% Fe by molecular weight. It has been the dominant iron ore mined in Australia since the early 1960s. Approximately 96% of Australia's iron ore exports are high-grade hematite, the bulk of which has been mined from deposits in the Hamersley province of Western Australia.
Ore production in Australia is overwhelmingly from high-grade hematite and pisolitic goethite-limonite deposits, mostly in the Hamersley Basin region of Western Australia.
Most of its supplies come from abroad, predominantly from Brazil and Australia. By various estimates, about 60 per cent of China's iron ore is imported from Australia.
Australia is the world's leading producer of bauxite, alumina, rutile and tantalum; the second largest producer of uranium, lead, ilmenite, zircon and lithium; the third largest producer of iron ore, and zinc.
Most of Australia's iron ore production is exported, predominantly to Asia. After rapid growth in the past decade, the main export market for Australia's iron ore is now China (almost 70 per cent of iron ore exports in 2010), with Japan and Korea importing most of the balance (Graph 2).
Exporters and Importers
Iron Ore are the world's 13th most traded product. In 2021, the top exporters of Iron Ore were Australia ($118B), Brazil ($46.2B), Canada ($8.31B), South Africa ($7.68B), and Ukraine ($6.83B).
Australia's iron ore resource base is capable of sustaining production for at least six decades, according to the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA).
Rio Tinto operates twelve iron ore mines in Western Australia, BHP seven, Fortescue two, all of those are located in the Pilbara region.
Iron is the most abundant element on earth but not in the crust. The extent of the accessible iron ore reserves is not known, though Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute suggested in 2006 that iron ore could run out within 64 years (that is, by 2070), based on 2% growth in demand per year.
Hematite and magnetite are the best quality and most significant iron ores for steelmaking. Hematite is the most sought-after ore and the preferred raw material in productive steel mills.
One can find four types of iron ores on earth. They are Haematite, Magnetite, Limonite and Siderite.
Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O 4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself.
Although iron ore resources occur in all the Australian States and Territories, almost 90% of identified resources occur in Western Australia, including almost 80% in the Hamersley Province, one of the world's major iron ore producing regions.
Australia is the world's largest producer of lithium and a global top five producer of gold, iron ore, lead, zinc, and nickel.
Australia accounts for 38% of global production, with the other largest producers being Brazil (18%), India (10%), China (10%) and Russia (4%). Exports of iron ore from Australia increased by 1% to 886Mt in 2022 over 2021, with the highest share being exported to China.
While China's steel industry will likely always need Australian iron ore, the country's attempt to shake up the global iron ore market could have obvious ramifications for Australian exporters.