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Iron Ore Suppliers

The countries that produce major iron ore in the world include China, Brazil, Australia, India, Russia, Canada and US. The type of iron ore found in these countries varies from each other. The types of iron ore found include hematite ore, magnetite, bentonite, taconite ore, goethite, Itabirito ore, etc. The hematite and magnetite ores are high-grade iron ores as they have more 70% iron content. After these itabirito ore has up to 50% iron content. The rest types of iron ores are of low grade that contain very low around 30% iron content.

The hematite ore is found in large scale in Brazil, Australia, China and India. This iron ore found in China and India are mostly used for domestic purposes. On the other hand the iron ore found in Brazil and Australia is in surplus and thus emerge as major iron ore suppliers.

Brazil exports almost 2/3 of the total iron ore produce to various countries in Asia. Australia ranks second in the world after Brazil for exporting hematite iron ore to different countries in the world.

The major iron ore suppliers from Brazil are: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), Mineracoes Brasileiras Reunidas (MBR), Mineracao da Trindade (Samitri), Samarco Mineracao and Ferteco Mineracao.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) is the largest company in Brazil that owns almost 75% of the iron ore mines in Brazil. This iron ore supplier offers two types of iron ores the lump type iron ore and the pellets type iron ore. Companhia Vale do Rio Doce supplies almost 70% of its exported iron ore to China and the rest to South Korea and Japan. With the recent take over of other iron ore producing companies Companhia Vale do Rio Doce is expected to export more quantities of iron ore to different Asian markets.

The Brazilian company that ranks second in the iron ore suppliers list is Mineracoes Brasileiras Reunidas (MBR). This company mainly produces the lump type iron ore though some amount of pellet type iron ore is also produced but in lesser quantity as compared to CVRD. Mineracoes Brasileiras Reunidas (MBR) is included in the list of first five iron ore producers in the world. It exports iron ore to several countries globally.

The Australian company BHP- Billiton is one of the major producers of iron ore that own mines not only in Australia but also in Brazil. The major iron ore manufactured by BHP Billiton is exported to Asian steel manufacturers. BHP Billiton exports almost 110 MT per annum to Asian markets. The major country that imports iron ore from BHP Billiton is China. The demand from China is expected to increase the exports to almost 130 MT annually in next couple of years.

The other major iron ore suppliers are US and Canada. The iron ore from these countries is mainly of low grade like the taconite ore and is exported mainly to China.