Published: January 5, 2018 |

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Insider Monkey reported that Iron is one of the most important metals in industries today, so here we will see which the biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017 are.

Australia, on the other hand is the leading in the amount of iron ore reserves by country (iron ore reserves, as well as any reserves, are “naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous material in or on the Earth’s crust in such form and amount that economic extraction of a commodity from the concentration is currently or potentially feasible”), and among others at the top are Brazil and South Africa. Australia is also the largest producer of high grade iron ore in the world, having very rich mines in high grade iron ores. That is namely Pilbara region, where very rich in iron hematite ore is mined. Pilbara hematite ore is known as ”direct shipping ore” since it contains very high iron levels (56-64 perecnt in this case), and it only passes the crushing, screening and blending processes before being shipped. From these top countries in iron ore production (and more about this you can also read from 8 Countries that Produce the Most Iron in the World), iron ore is being distributed throughout the world. Picture of iron ore consumption by country is somewhat different compared to the top iron ore producing countries. Iron ore in these countries is mostly used for steel production, and those top steel-consuming countries (based on 2013 figures) are China, Japan, USA, India, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Turkey in this order. The top 15 countries that import the most iron ore are actually purchasing 94 percent of all imports!

For our research on the biggest iron ore producers in 2017, we have gone through the websites providing information on mining news and trends. Among these were Steel 360, Iron Investing News, The Motley Fool, Investopedia, Mining and Mining Technology. We have then ranked the companies according to iron ore production in first, second and/or third quarter of 2017 in metric tons. We ranked companies according to only one-quarter figures, but we had put more when the information was available, just to give the insight in particular company’s development.

The biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017 are:

11. Atlas Iron
Atlas Iron is Australian mining company headquartered in Perth, and operating mostly in Pilbara region. Pilbara region is known as Australia’s richest area with iron ore, and 95 percent of Australian iron is mined there. Atlas Iron is the second largest iron ore producer in Aust

10. Metinvest
Metinvest is a relatively recently founded (in 2006) Ukrainian steel and mining company. It is among the top 50 largest steel companies in the world. Apart from iron ore, Metinvest produces steel plates, track materials, tubular products, etc.

9. Cleveland Cliffs Inc.
Cleveland Cliffs, formerly known as Cliffs Natural Resources, is the biggest producer of iron ore pellets in the USA, and also one of the biggest iron ore producers in 2017. They are operating in several mines in Michigan and Minnesota. Iron ore production of Cleveland Cliffs is rising, as seen in the figure of 26 percent increase of third quarter this year compared to the same quarter of 2016.

8. Metalloinvest
Metalloinvest is s Russian mining company and one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017. According to their own words, the company is the second largest company of iron ore reserves by size, with 14.2 billion tons of iron ore which is enough for another 140 years of mining. Import of Metalloinvest’s iron ore to Europe increased as much as 71 percent after the first quarter of 2017.

7. ArcelorMittal
Up next on our list of biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017 is ArcelorMittal which is a multinational steel company headquartered in Luxemburg, and operating in about 60 countries. Their main occupation is steel production, where they are leading in the world, and other branches involved are mining and research and development. Being one of the biggest producers of iron ore in the world, they have mines in Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Mexico, US, Ukraine, Brazil, and Canada.

6. Anglo American
Anglo American ranks 6th on our list of biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017. It is a multinational company headquartered in London, England, founded in 1917, now operating in South Africa, South America, and Australia. Apart from iron ore, Anglo American is in business with diamonds, copper, platinum, coal, manganese, and nickel. Main iron ore mines of Anglo American are stationed in South Africa and Brazil.

5. National Mineral Development Corporation
NDMC is Indian mining company owned by Indian Government founded in 1958. It is India’s biggest iron ore producer and one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world as well. Apart from iron ore business, they also extract copper, limestone, dolomite, bentonite, diamonds, etc., which are being extracted from four mines in India.

4. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG)
We are continuing our list of biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017 with FMG, which is the Australian company and one of the most important in iron ore business globally. It was founded in 2003, working in Pilbara mines which are one of the most significant mines concerning iron exploitation. Apart from being one of the biggest iron ore producers in the world, FMG was also one of the lowest cost iron ore suppliers in 2016. They are one of the most important iron ore suppliers to China, the country with the most iron ore demands.

3. BHP Billiton
Even though iron ore production of BHP Billiton company fell by 3 percent in first quarter of 2017 compared to the same quarter last year, this company is still among the top biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017. BHP Billiton is Anglo-Australian company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and operating in several countries such as Brazil, Algeria, Chile, Mexico, Peru, etc.

2. Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto ranks second on our list of biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017. It is a large multinational mining corporation. It is also a corporation with very long tradition: it was founded in 1873. They operate in 35 countries including Brazil, Australia, Serbia, Iceland, Singapore, etc. Their four main product groups consist of Aluminum, Copper & Diamonds, Energy & Minerals, and Iron ore. Main metal mining exploitation is oriented towards iron, aluminum, and copper. Iron ore production in third quarter of 2017 was 4 percent higher than the production of the same quarter of previous year.

1. Vale
Multinational mining company Vale stationed in Brazilian is the number one on our list of biggest iron ore producers in the world in 2017. Apart from iron, Vale is one of the world’s leading nickel producers. Apart from iron and copper Vale produces coal, copper, and manganese. Iron ore production in the second quarter this year was 5.8 percent higher than in second quarter in 2016.

Source: Steel Guru

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