IRON ORE

In accordance with the regulations of TSI Iron Ore CFR China (62% Fe Fines) traded on Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Overview of iron ore

Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which iron can be extracted. Iron ore is usually rich in oxides such as Fe3O4, Fe2O3, FeCO3,. Iron ore is the raw material for steelmaking. Iron ore is one of the most important and sensitive commodities for the global economy because iron is the most commonly used metal in the world.
Iron ore is tradable on the Singapore Commodity Exchange.

Characteristics of iron ore

High iron ores such as Hematite (Fe3O4) and Magnetite (Fe2O3) with an iron content above 60% are known to be directly loaded into blast furnaces for the production of cast iron. Lower-grade ores need to be processed at a great cost to get into blast furnaces.

Figure 1: Mining iron ore at the mine

Magnetite concentrate contains more than 64% iron by weight, less than 0.1% phosphorus, 3-7% silicate and less than 3% aluminum. Magnetite ore is mined in the United States, Canada, Brazil. Australia also has a large-scale iron ore mining industry, although it is new. Magnetite ore can produce high grade concentrates with very low impurities.
Hematite ores are currently mined on every continent. Currently exported hematite ore or DSO (Direct Shipping Ore) usually has iron in the range of 62-64%. However, hematite ore still needs to be enriched.
Iron ore production is concentrated in a few large producers because this is a business with large capital requirements but low profit margins. The value of 1 mass unit of iron is significantly lower than that of many other metals.

Iron ore production and trade

In 2019, the whole world produced about 2,538 billion tons of iron ore. China is currently the world's largest iron ore producer with about 844 million tons. The country is also the largest steel producer in the world with crude steel output in 2019 estimated at 996 million tons out of a total of 1,870 million tons worldwide. world. Australia, Brazil are the countries

Group of 10 iron producing countries in the world. Source USGS

Austrailia is the world's largest exporter of iron ore, accounting for more than half of 2017. The export value is about $48.2 billion out of a global total of $93 billion. The main export to China is the import of iron ore the most. Brazil accounted for about 22% of the world's iron ore exports in 2017.

Figure 3. Iron ore exporting countries (2017)

China imported about $59 billion worth of iron ore in 2017, accounting for 63% of global imports. Countries in Asia also import iron ore as much as Japan and Korea.

Figure 4. Iron ore importing countries (2017)

Factors affecting the price of iron ore

* World economic and political situation
* Political situation in countries that exploit, import and export iron ore