WikiMini

List of countries by iron ore production

This is a list of countries by iron ore production in 2024 based on U.S. Geological Survey data.[1]

Rank Country Usable iron ore
production
(million tonnes)
Iron content
(million tonnes)
 World 2,500 1,600
1 Australia Australia 930 580
2 Brazil Brazil 440 280
3 China China 270 170
4 India India 270 170
5 Russia Russia 91 53
6 Iran Iran 90 59
7 South Africa South Africa 66 42
8 Canada Canada 54 32
9 United States United States 48 30
10 Ukraine Ukraine 42 26
11 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 30 9
12 Sweden Sweden 28 20
13 Peru Peru 21 14
14 Chile Chile 18 11
14 Turkey Turkey 18 11
15 Mauritania Mauritania 15 9
16 Mexico Mexico 8 5
Rest of world 64 37

Note: "Usable iron ore" figures refer to the processed ore product suitable for steelmaking, not the raw extracted material. As such, countries with lower-grade ores like China extensively beneficiate magnetite ores (typically <30% Fe) to produce market-grade material (~60% Fe), making their usable ore output appear comparable to high-grade producers like Australia or Brazil. However, the efficiency, cost, and environmental impact of such beneficiation vary significantly.[2]

Pig iron production

[edit]

This is a list of countries by pig iron production in 2023.[3]

Pig Iron production (million tonnes)
Rank Country 2023
1 China China 871.0
2 India India 86.3
3 Japan Japan 63.0
4 Russia Russia 54.6
5 South Korea South Korea 45.2
6 Brazil Brazil 25.7
7 Germany Germany 23.6
8 United States United States 20.6

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 – Iron Ore" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  2. ^ Gupta, Amit; Kumar, Rajesh (2024). "Exploring Low-Grade Iron Ore Beneficiation Techniques". Minerals. 14 (8): 796. doi:10.3390/min14080796.
  3. ^ "World Steel in Figures 2024" (PDF). World Steel Association. Retrieved 2025-04-22.