iron ore mining

Mining iron ore is a high-volume, low-margin business, as the value of iron is significantly lower than base metals. It is highly capital intensive, and requires significant investment in infrastructure such as rail in order to transport the ore from the mine to a freight ship.

iron processing, use of a smelting process to turn the ore into a form from which products can be fashioned. Included in this article also is a discussion of the mining of iron and of its preparation for smelting.

#1 Hammersly Mines and Channar. In first place is Rio Tinto's Hamersley Mines complex and Channar with 11 operating mines in Australia's Pilbara region. Based on the figures provided to the...

Most iron ores are extracted by surface mining. Some underground mines do exist, but, wherever possible, surface mining is preferred because it is cheaper. Lumps and fines. Crushing. As-mined iron ore contains lumps of varying size, the biggest being more than 1 metre (40 inches) across and the smallest about 1 millimetre (0.04 inch).

Iron ore is mined in about 50 countries. The seven largest of these producing countries account for about three-quarters of total world production. Australia and Brazil together dominate the world's iron ore exports, each having about one-third of total exports.

Iron mining in the United States produced 48 million metric tons of iron ore in 2019. Iron ore was the third-highest-value metal mined in the United States, after gold and copper. Iron ore was mined from nine active mines and three reclamation operations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Utah.

Global iron ore mining market value 2011-2023. Market value of iron ore mining worldwide from 2011 to 2022, with a forecast for 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)