Iron ore reserves in the world. Iron ore mining in the world

Iron is a metal whose importance is difficult to overestimate. Traces of its use are visible everywhere, and the beginning of its use was marked by a new era, because reserves iron ore in the world are great and many countries can boast of its presence. But where did it come from? How is this metal mined?

Leading countries in iron ore reserves

Today, the world has about 100 countries in which large deposits of iron ore have been discovered. According to analysts, there are up to 800 billion tons of it on planet Earth.

It is worth noting that most of these deposits are represented by ores of low and medium quality. According to experts, they account for 80% of all iron ore reserves. As an example, in China the percentage of rich deposits does not even exceed 8%.

The following countries have large reserves of iron ore in the world:

Russia. It accounts for 18% of the world's reserves. Moreover, this includes pure metal, and not its minerals.
Brazil. The percentage of the world reserve of this country is 17%.
Australia. 14% of all iron reserves are located there.
Ukraine. Despite its relatively small size, this country contains 11% of the world's reserves.
China closes the top five in the world in terms of the number of deposits. Its reserves account for 9% of the world's reserves.

Leaders in iron ore mining

The presence of resources does not mean their development. Currently, 78% of all ores in the world are exported to five countries:

China is the undisputed leader in iron ore production. It produces an average of 900 million tons per year.
Australia is constantly increasing its production levels. Today it is 420 million tons.
Brazil's reserves allow it to extract 350 million tons of ore per year.
India introduced 245 million tons to the market last year.
Russia produces on average 100 million tons of ore per year.

It is worth noting that this ratio of leaders has been observed for 10 years. Only the volume of their production changes.

Reserves in Russia

Iron ore resources of Russia are presented in the form of red and brown iron ore. The deposits are distributed unevenly throughout the country, and the bulk of them are located in European territory. In particular, there is the Kursk magnetic anomaly, which has 25% of the world's iron ore reserves. It includes 150 sq. kilometers of area and covers the territory of nine provinces. According to foreign experts, its ore reserves are about 200 billion tons. Of this, enriched ore accounts for 30 billion tons.

The Bakchar deposit ranks second in terms of iron ore reserves. It is located at the mouth of the Iksa and Andorma rivers, which is geographically located in the Tomsk province. The reserve of iron-containing minerals is approximately 28 billion tons.

The Murmansk region has significant reserves of red iron ore. This primarily includes the Olenegorsk deposit. It accounts for about 18 billion tons.

In the Siberian part, significant ore reserves are located in Kemerovo and Altai. About 1 billion tons of ore are mined there annually. Moreover, it should be noted that the ore is of fairly high quality with a pure metal content of 50-55%.

On Far East the main source of ores is Khabarovsk region, Amur region and Sakha Republic. About 700 million tons are mined here. Here iron ore is presented in the form of various metal connections, the percentage of iron in which does not exceed 30%.

Iron ore. Its types and differences

Isolation of pure iron from natural minerals is the main method of obtaining pure metal. As a rule, iron is contained in small quantities in almost all rock formations. Iron ore is distinguished by the presence in its composition of at least 26% of pure metal, presented in the form of hydrates, oxides and iron salts.

The most common types of ores are:

Brown iron ore;
Iron spar;
Hematite.

Based on the amount of pure iron content, metallurgy divides ores into the following types:

Rich ore. They contain more than 57% iron, no more than 0.15% phosphorus and sulfur, and less than 9% silica. This ore is iron pellets interspersed with limestone.
Medium ore. 35-57% consists of iron.
Poor ore. Includes at least 26% pure metal.

Rich ores serve as the main raw material for the production of primary cast iron. Smelting is carried out in special gas furnaces - cupolas. Steels are obtained by further processing of cast iron in open-hearth and converter furnaces. They remove excess carbon, as well as refine the chemical composition of silicon, phosphorus and sulfur.

Medium and low-grade ores are used by metallurgy after preliminary enrichment with iron.

Methods of mining iron ores

Production begins with the search and exploration of deposits. For this purpose, special devices are used, the operating principle of which is based on the dispersion, reception and digitization of sound waves.

The mining industry distinguishes the following types of deposits:

Flat-like. The ore in them is located at the top of various types of rock formations.
Linear. Represent iron ore, rushing deep into earth's crust. These deposits are characterized by a high iron content in the ore. The amount of phosphorus and sulfur in them is insignificant.

Iron ore is mined in quarries or mines. The choice of method depends on the depth of the fossils. From the place of extraction, raw materials are sent for processing in blast furnaces, where pure iron is separated from various impurities.

World reserves

Fossils containing iron can be found on all continents. Deposits have been identified in 98 countries. Today, 212 billion tons of minerals are mined. Scientists suggest that total mass There are 790 billion tons of these rocks on the planet. The amount of iron in ore layers varies. There are rich, ordinary and poor deposits. Therefore, the ratio of the amount of mined ore and the iron obtained from it is different.

The quality of the vast majority of minerals is low. 86% of mined minerals contain from 16 to 40% iron. Therefore, raw materials need to be enriched with something. In Russia, 12% of high-quality material is mined, which contains more than 60% of the target raw materials. The highest quality minerals for the metallurgical industry are mined in Australia. The ore there contains 64% iron.

Minerals are mined if they contain enough raw materials to be industrial processing was appropriate. There are three main types of products used in metallurgy:

Separated.
Agloruda.
Pellets.

Rich deposits contain on average 57% iron, while poor deposits contain approximately 26%.

Classification of the breed according to morphological properties:

Foundry.
Flatbred.

Foundry rocks are wedge-shaped bodies located in areas of faults in the earth's crust. Such deposits contain a lot of iron from 54 to 69% with minimum quantity sulfur and phosphorus.

Flat rock ore minerals are found at the upper levels of ferruginous quartzite beds. Enriched materials are processed in open hearth and converter furnaces, sometimes sent for direct recovery of target raw materials.

Main types of deposits:

Layered sedimentary.
Titanium magnetite.
Skarn.

Less significant types of deposits:

Siderite.
Pasty lateritic.
Carbolite and magnetite.

According to geological exploration data, the bowels of the earth contain approximately 80 billion tons of target raw materials worldwide. If you mine ore in modern ways in constant volumes, the duration of iron use is limited to 250 years.

Largest deposits

Russia has more ore reserves than other countries. The deposits are located in different regions. The Kursk magnetic anomaly is a gigantic area of global scale in which ore is mined. There are several large deposits in this area.

Other places rich in these minerals:

Ural.
Karelia.
Kola ore district.
Western Siberia.

Let us list the large deposits located on the territory of other countries:

Australia.
Canada.
India.
Sweden.
China.

There are also a lot of ore reserves on the territory of Ukraine. Let's list the deposits:

Krivoy Rog.
Beloretskoe.
Kremenchugskoe.

In some deposits, the minerals do not contain much iron; they contain large number harmful impurities. There are deposits with high-quality ore on the territory of Ukraine.

Venezuelan deposits contain 68% iron. More than 10 million tons are in Brazil. In the United States of America, ferruginous quartzites are mined, which require enrichment to improve their quality characteristics.

Different methods for extracting raw materials are used:

For the open-pit method, all operated equipment must be located near the deposit. A quarry is created up to 500 m deep; this mining method is used when the minerals are not too deep.
The closed mining method is used most often. The technology involves the creation of mines whose depth reaches 1 km. Ore is mined using special equipment. The closed method is resource intensive and can be risky.

The ore is transported by lifting machines to the processing site. Iron is extracted from these minerals through a heat treatment process, the melting point of which is 1500 degrees. Minerals may contain various impurities. After melting in blast furnaces, the iron is removed and poured into containers. During the heat treatment process, slags are separated.

Let us list the world leaders in iron ore mining:

BHP Billiton is an Australian-British organization.
Vale S. A is a Brazilian company
Rio Tinto is a transnational conglomerate.

Ore is mined in many countries. These companies operate power plants, raw material processing and steel production plants. Organizations own own funds for transportation, dictate the cost of minerals around the world.

Rating of world countries by iron ore production for 2017

This type of mineral is mined in 98 countries around the world. The leading countries produce the most minerals:

China.
Australia.
Brazil.
Russia.
India.

In these states, 80% of all ore is taken for industry. Every year the volume of the industry is expanding, the growing needs of people are still not fully covered. Some states have all the equipment for mining, but there is a shortage of raw materials. To operate industrial sectors, it is necessary to organize the import of minerals.

The world's main exporters of iron ore are:

South Korea.
Japan.
European Union.

Even China has to import raw materials. In India, this industry is constantly developing. Experts predict an increase in the amount of extracted minerals by 2020 to 35%.

Iron ore is the main raw material for the world's metallurgical industry. The iron ore market has a significant impact on the economy different countries.

Today, the main consumer of this metallurgical raw material is China. Let us note that it is this Asian country that occupies a leading position in the world in steel production, supplying almost 50 percent of the metal to the world market.

Let's see what the world's iron ore reserves are today and who is leading the ranking of iron ore producing countries.

Iron ore reserves in different countries of the world.

It is known that to date, iron ore deposits of varying quality have been identified in 98 countries around the world. According to experts, world reserves of iron ore may be about 790 billion tons. Today, the total reserves of iron ore in the world are equal to 464 billion tons. Note that of them confirmed on at the moment are about 200 billion tons.

The majority of the world's reserves consist of iron ores of low and medium quality. In terms of share, they account for more than 87 percent of the world's total proven reserves. Such ores contain iron from 16 to 40 percent and subsequently require additional enrichment. For example, in Russia, one of the five leading countries in ore mining, only a little more than 12 percent of high-quality iron ore (in which the iron content is at least 60%) is mined.

Let us make a reservation that today iron ore is mined in more than fifty countries of the world. Moreover, the bulk of this raw material (up to 78 percent) comes from five leading countries: China, Brazil, Russia, Australia and India.

The leader in iron ore production is China. In 2010, 900 million tons were mined here; by 2013, this figure increased and amounted to about 1.3 billion tons for the entire 2012.

Let us note that in two years the top five leaders in ore production have not changed at all. Yes, following China is coming Australia, in which the volume of ore mined also increased from 420 to 525 million tons over two years. This is stated in the report of the US Geological Survey. In third place is Brazil, where 375 million tons were produced in 2012 (which exceeds the 2010 figures by only 5 million tons). The fourth and fifth places are in India and Russia, respectively; 245 and 100 million tons were produced here last year.

Note that Ukraine, which is the most rich country in terms of iron deposits, in 2012 it produced only 81 million tons.

In general, in 2012, all companies in the world produced 3 billion tons of ore.

Let's give small table iron reserves in different countries of the world, according to METALRESEARCH estimates:

As you can see, India is not among the top five in terms of iron ore reserves, where no more than 7 billion tons were officially confirmed for 2012 (data from the US Geological Survey). Let us remember that India ranks fourth in the world in terms of production.

If we talk not about ore, but about useful iron itself, then the leaders here will be Russia and Brazil.

In the context of the latest statistics, we note that only ore containing at least 55 percent iron can be used in production (for smelting in blast furnaces). Otherwise, it is further enriched with iron, bringing the content level to 60 percent.

The largest iron ore region in the world is the Kursk magnetic anomaly.

Today, the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (Russia) is considered the largest iron ore deposit in the world. Explored ore reserves are 30 billion tons.

The Kursk magnetic anomaly covers several regions - Oryol, Kursk and Belgorod. Iron ores here lie on an area of about 160 square kilometers (it is noted that the deposits cover about nine regions of the country).

According to official data, quartzite reserves (explored) amount to more than 25 billion tons (the iron content in the ore does not exceed 37 percent). There are also large deposits of rich ore (up to 66%) - about 30 billion tons.

Note that ore at the Kursk magnetic anomaly is mined in two ways: open (at the Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye and Mikhailovskoye deposits) and in underground deposits (Korobkovskoye).

Let us note that, according to scientists, the promising reserves of iron ore in this anomaly may be about 200 billion tons. Experts note that the volume of ore production at the deposits of the Kursk magnetic anomaly will remain until 2020, and then a decline is possible.

A promising direction for Russia, as one of the countries with great resources iron ore, according to scientists and mining industry specialists, will be the development of deposits with rich ores (up to 70 percent), which are located within the Kursk magnetic anomaly.

Iron Ore is the main raw material for the global metallurgical industry. The economies of different countries largely depend on the market for this mineral, which is why the development of mines is receiving increased attention throughout the world.

Ore: definition and features

Ores are called rocks, which are used for processing and extracting the metals they contain. The types of these minerals differ in origin, chemical content, concentration of metals and impurities. IN chemical composition The ore contains various iron oxides, hydroxides and carbon dioxide salts.

Interesting! Ore has been in demand on the farm since ancient times. Archaeologists were able to find out that the manufacture of the first iron objects dates back to the 2nd century. B.C. This material was first used by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia.

Iron- a common chemical element in nature. Its content in the earth's crust is about 4.2%. But in pure form it is almost never found, most often in the form of compounds - in oxides, iron carbonates, salts, etc. Iron ore is a combination of minerals with a significant amount of iron. IN national economy The use of ores containing more than 55% of this element is considered economically justified.

What is made from ore

Iron ore industry is a metallurgical industry that specializes in the extraction and processing of iron ore. The main purpose of this material today is the production of cast iron and steel.

All products made from iron can be divided into groups:

Pig iron with high carbon concentration (above 2%).
Cast iron.
Steel ingots for the production of rolled products, reinforced concrete and steel pipes.
Ferroalloys for steelmaking.

What is ore needed for?

The material is used for smelting iron and steel. Today there is practically no industrial sector that can do without these materials.

Cast iron is an alloy of carbon and iron with manganese, sulfur, silicon and phosphorus. Cast iron is produced in blast furnaces, where high temperatures ore is isolated from iron oxides. Almost 90% of the resulting cast iron is marginal and is used in steel smelting.

Various technologies are used:

electron beam melting to obtain pure high-quality material;
vacuum processing;
electro-slag remelting;
steel refining (removal of harmful impurities).

The difference between steel and cast iron is the minimum concentration of impurities. Oxidative smelting in open-hearth furnaces is used for purification.

The highest quality steel is smelted in induction electric ovens with extremely high temperatures.

Ore differs in the concentration of the element it contains. It can be enriched (with a concentration of 55%) and poor (from 26%). It is advisable to use low-grade ores in production only after enrichment.

Based on their origin, the following types of ores are distinguished:

Magmatogenous (endogenous) - formed under the influence of high temperature;
Surface - settled remains of the element on the bottom of sea basins;
Metamorphogenic - obtained under the influence of extremely high pressure.

Main mineral compounds containing iron:

Hematite (red iron ore). The most valuable source of iron with an element content of 70% and a minimum concentration of harmful impurities.
Magnetite. Chemical element with a metal content of 72% is distinguished by high magnetic properties and is mined from magnetic iron ores.
Siderite (iron carbonate). There is a high content of waste rock, the iron itself is about 45-48%.
Brown iron ores. A group of hydrous oxides with low percentage iron, with admixtures of manganese and phosphorus. An element with such properties is characterized by good recoverability and porous structure.

The type of material depends on its composition and the content of additional impurities. The most common red ironstone with a high percentage of iron can be found in different condition- from very dense to dusty.

Brown iron ores have a loose, slightly porous structure of brown or yellowish color. Such an element often requires enrichment, but is easily processed into ore (high-quality cast iron is obtained from it).

Magnetic iron ores are dense and granular in structure, looking like crystals embedded in the rock. The color of the ore is characteristic black-blue.

How ore is mined

Iron ore mining is a complex technical process that involves diving into the depths of the earth to search for minerals. Today, there are two methods of ore mining: open and closed.

Open (quarry method) is a common and safest option compared to closed technology. The method is relevant for those cases when there are no hard rocks in the working area, and there are no nearby settlements or engineering systems.

First, a quarry up to 350 meters deep is dug, after which iron is collected and removed from the bottom by large machines. After extraction, the material is sent on diesel locomotives to steel and iron factories.

Quarries are dug using excavators, but this process takes a lot of time. As soon as the machine reaches the first layer of the mine, the material is submitted for examination to determine the percentage of iron content and feasibility further work(if the percentage is above 55%, work in that area continues).

Interesting! Compared to the closed method, mining in quarries costs half as much. This technology does not require the construction of mines or the creation of tunnels. At the same time, the efficiency of work in open pits is several times higher, and the loss of material is five times less.

Closed mining method

Mine (closed) ore mining is used only if it is planned to maintain the integrity of the landscape in the area where ore deposits are being mined. This method is also relevant for work in mountainous areas. In this case, a network of tunnels is created underground, which leads to additional costs - the construction of the mine itself and the complex transportation of metal to the surface. Most main drawback — high risk for the lives of workers, the mine may collapse and block access to the surface.

Where is ore mined?

Iron ore mining is one of the leading areas of the economic complex of the Russian Federation. But despite this, Russia's share in world ore production is only 5.6%. World reserves amount to about 160 billion tons. The volume of pure iron reaches 80 billion tons.

Countries rich in ores

The distribution of minerals by country is as follows:

Russia - 18%;
Brazil - 18%;
Australia - 13%;
Ukraine - 11%;
China - 9%;
Canada - 8%;
USA - 7%;
other countries - 15%.

Significant deposits of iron ore have been noted in Sweden (the cities of Falun and Gellivar). In America, a large amount of ore was discovered in the state of Pennsylvania. In Norway, the metal is mined in Persberg and Arendali.

Ores of Russia

The Kursk magnetic anomaly is a large deposit of iron ore in the Russian Federation and in the world, in which the volume of unrefined metal reaches 30,000 million tons.

Interesting! Analysts note that the scale of mineral production at the KMA mines will continue until 2020, and there will be a decline in the future.

Mine area Kola Peninsula is 115,000 sq. km. Iron, nickel, copper ore, cobalt and apatites.

The Ural mountains are also among the most large deposits ores in the Russian Federation. The main development area is Kachkanar. The volume of ore minerals is 7000 million tons.

The metal is mined in smaller quantities in the West Siberian basin, Khakassia, the Kerch basin, Zabaikalsk and the Irkutsk region.

Iron ore is the historical foundation of ferrous metallurgy. At present and for the foreseeable future, it will remain the main raw material for steel production. In the last third of the 20th century. The importance of secondary raw materials (scrap) in steel production has been growing quite steadily around the world, leading to opinions that in the next century the iron and steel industry will largely abandon iron ore. However, the rapid growth of the economies of China and India in the 2000s. led to a break in the global trend - an intensive increase in steel production was possible only through the expansion of the use of iron ore, especially since these countries did not have a large accumulated metal stock. Currently, about 3/4 of the steel produced in the world is obtained by processing iron ore.

Iron ore is one of the most common minerals. The provision of current production with only reliable reserves exceeds 100 years, despite the fact that even developed basins and iron ore deposits are often less than half explored. The largest reserves of iron ore are located in Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, China and Australia - in total approximately 2/3 of the world's reserves.

A key indicator of the quality of iron ore is its iron content. Also important is the content of phosphorus, sulfur (they reduce the attractiveness of use), alloying metals (increase the value of ores), non-metallic impurities (silicon, aluminum, calcium, magnesium - their ratio can increase or decrease processing costs). The iron content in the ores of developed deposits is in the range of 20-65%, but in some cases deposits with a lower metal content are exploited; this can be facilitated by the presence of valuable associated components, ease of enrichment, and proximity to the consumer. Commercial iron ore typically contains 50-70% iron, but some countries have lower levels. The main commercial products are lump ore, fines, concentrate and pellets (the most valuable product), their quality parameters are different manufacturers may vary significantly.

In production statistics, the standard indicator is the production of marketable iron ore. For all major producers, the average iron content in commercial ore is 55-65%, so their indicators are quite comparable. The exception is China, the main producer of this raw material, which produces ore with an iron content of approximately 30%. For this country, specialized sources can provide both actual production data and estimates in terms of global average quality; we use the second approach.

Global iron ore production has increased almost 2.5 times over the past 12 years, reaching 2.4 billion tons in 2012, with more than 85% of the increase coming from four countries: China, Australia, Brazil and India. The development of China's iron ore industry was facilitated by a rapid increase in domestic needs, Australia and Brazil - expansion of external demand, and India - both factors. During the period under review, iron ore production increased in all regions except North America, but in regional structure production increased specific gravity only China (almost 2.5 times, up!/z) and a few other Asia-Pacific countries (from 26 to 30%). In addition to them, a significant contribution to world production is made by Latin America(18%) and CIS (less than 10%).

In the iron ore industry, there has been a trend of increasing concentration for a long period - only over the last 12 years, the share of the four largest producers has increased from 60 to 76%, which is a very high figure (Table 4.2). China took first place in iron ore production: in 2000 - if we consider nominal indicators, in 2006 - if we apply adjustments. In addition to the four giants - China, Australia, Brazil, India, major manufacturers iron ore are:

in the CIS - Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan;
in Europe - Sweden;
in the Middle East - Iran;
in Africa - South Africa;
V North America- USA, Canada.

Table 4.2. Leading countries in iron ore production, million tons


Brazil
Australia	Brazil	Australia
	Australia	Brazil

Iron ore is traditionally one of the most traded goods in international trade. Trade in it acquired significant proportions already in the 1950s, when it exceeded 100 million tons per year. Active development International trade in iron ore raw materials is facilitated by strong disproportions between the allocation of resources and the geography of demand for them. In most countries consuming iron ore, reserves of high-quality raw materials are absent or small: modern stage Of the 30 countries that consume more than 5 million tons of iron ore per year, only 12 can fully provide themselves with it and another 3 - half.

World iron ore market in beginning of XXI V. was one of the fastest growing commodity markets. Trade in iron ore, unlike most goods, maintained its progressive development during the crisis. In 2012, it exceeded 1.2 billion tons (half of world production), increasing by 2.3 times compared to 2000.

The world market is controlled by Australia and Brazil, which together account for 2/3 of global exports. They have been the top two exporters of iron ore since the mid-1970s. and can export efficiently to all major markets. For a long time most of the remaining large suppliers were competitive only in the nearest regional markets, but in the mid-2000s. the situation has changed. Rapidly growing demand from China has led to a steady increase in iron ore prices and has made supplies to the Chinese market efficient even from the most remote regions. In particular, such deliveries (by sea) began to be carried out by the CIS countries and the Scandinavian states.

The largest exporter of iron ore in the late 2000s. became Australia, which previously shared the championship with Brazil. Australia's position has been strengthened by steady growth in demand in East Asia, for which it is the main supplier. Since the late 2000s. Australian exports (over 500 million tons) are almost entirely directed to East Asia. Brazil occupies second place in the export of iron ore (about 350 million tons). Thanks to high quality ores and more profitable compared to its main competitors geographical location it is this country that should be considered the most competitive supplier of iron ore on a global scale. Brazil's exports have traditionally been characterized by high geographic diversification. The main market for Brazilian iron ore raw materials in the 2000s. East Asia has become (2/3 of supplies at the present stage), ahead of Europe (less than 20%), in addition, exports to the Middle East are significant.

Throughout the 2000s. India closed the top three leading suppliers of iron ore; its exports grew steadily and reached a maximum at the end of the decade (more than 100 million tons), after which they sharply decreased. Due to rapid growth domestic consumption in the country, fears arose of a possible shortage of iron ore, to avoid which export duties on it were sharply increased and control over ports was strengthened (large volumes were exported illegally). As a result, since mid-2012, Indian exports have been at a very low level (10-15 million tons per year), and there is no clarity on the issue further development No. China has been and remains the dominant destination for Indian exports.

Enough major exporters Several other countries also produce iron ore. South Africa (55 million tons) is focused mainly on the East Asian market; supplies to the EU have a significant weight. Ukraine (35 million tons) and Russia (25 million tons) traditionally supply iron ore Eastern Europe, V recent years China became their predominant destination. Canada (35 million tons) exports mainly to East Asia and Western Europe, as well as the United States. Sweden (more than 20 million tons) is historically oriented towards Western Europe, with significant supplies to the Middle East. Kazakhstan (over 20 million tons) supplies most of its iron ore to China, the rest to Russia, and just a few years ago the situation was the opposite. Iran (more than 20 million tons) almost all of its exports are directed to China.

The most important regional markets for iron ore were initially Japanese, Western European and North American; the separate Eastern European market, supplied by the USSR, was of secondary importance. In the 1980s The importance of the North American market declined greatly in the 1990s. the same thing happened with the Eastern European market. At the same time, the Japanese market began to transform into an East Asian market as other countries in the region expanded imports. In the 2000s. The dominant position of the East Asian market has finally emerged, which now accounts for 80% of global iron ore imports. Of secondary importance is the single European market, the share of which is steadily declining (12% in 2012). All other regions and countries together account for less than 10% of world imports.

The world's largest importer of iron ore since 2003 has been China, ahead of the former leader, Japan. The share of China in world imports over the past six years has increased 1.5 times, amounting to 60% (750 million tons) in 2012, and continues to increase. In the 2000s. it was the rapid growth of Chinese demand that became main reason sustainable expansion of international trade in iron ore and higher prices. The rise in price of iron ore raw materials stimulated the development of export-oriented mining in many countries, including those that had not previously exported or even mined iron ore (Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, etc.). Of the approximately 40 countries currently exporting significant competitive iron ore (excluding resale), only Bosnia and Herzegovina does not supply its goods to China. At the same time, of the 20 leading exporters, only three (Sweden, the USA and the Philippines) have a major buyer other than China. The main suppliers of iron ore to China are Australia (more than 45%) and Brazil (more than 20%), until 2012 India was among them, but now its importance is small, and South Africa (5%) occupies its third position. Among China's other iron ore import counterparties, Iran, Ukraine, Canada, Indonesia and Russia stand out.

Total imports of iron ore from EU countries remain significantly below pre-crisis levels (150 million tons). Of this volume, 3/4 comes from imports from outside the region, the rest is intraregional trade, including purchases for re-export. Brazil has traditionally been the leading supplier of iron ore to the EU, providing half of external imports, with important countries including Ukraine, Canada, Russia, South Africa and Mauritania. The largest importer among the EU countries is traditionally Germany (40 million tons), the second place thanks to re-export operations is occupied by the Netherlands (30-35 million tons), the rest are France, Italy (about 15 million tons), Great Britain and Austria (10 million tons each). ). The geographical structure of imports of individual countries is characterized by similar features: for Eastern European countries, the main partners are Ukraine and Russia, for the rest - Brazil, Canada, Sweden, South Africa, Mauritania.

The second largest iron ore importing country is Japan (130 million tons). The leading position in the Japanese market traditionally belongs to Australia (60%), Brazil takes second place (25%), and South Africa and the Philippines stand out from the rest. The Republic of Korea (65 million tons) secured its position as the third importer, leaving Germany far behind. The main supplier for it is traditionally Australia (70%), second place belongs to Brazil (25%), and South Africa stands out from the rest. Taiwan is a fairly large buyer of iron ore (20 million tons), imports are carried out mainly from Australia (70%) and Brazil (25%).

All other buyers of iron ore have import volumes of no more than 10 million tons per year each, the most prominent among them are Russia, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Argentina. They import ore either from neighboring countries (for example, Russia from Kazakhstan), or from Brazil - the most competitive exporter of this raw material, selling a high-quality product.

The situation in the world iron ore market has traditionally been determined by the state of the iron and steel industry in Japan and other countries Western Europe. Negotiations between their metallurgical corporations and iron ore exporting companies operating in Brazil and Australia determined the price level for annual contracts, which was the target for all other suppliers. In the second half of the 2000s. The consumer side began to be represented to the greatest extent by Chinese metallurgical companies, whose demand became decisive for the world market. Iron ore companies are represented on the market by three global players: the Brazilian Vale(previously CVRD) and Anglo-Australian VNR Billiton And Rio Tinto. Since 2010, long-term contract prices have been reviewed quarterly.

In addition to supplies under long-term contracts, there is also a spot market, which has increased significantly in recent years. This market is almost entirely focused on China, in fact it reflects the conditions of the Chinese iron ore market. The spot market is dominated by mid-sized Australian and, to a lesser extent, Indian exporters, as well as companies from many other countries with relatively small volumes of shipments.