CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – Global iron-ore production showed a healthy increase of about 8% in 2011, compared with 2010, but the increase was not as impressive as previous years, Raw Materials Group cofounder and partner, Magnus Ericsson, said on Monday.

Speaking at the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town, he said that the bulk of the world’s iron-ore still went to China, with the Asian giant importing 680-million tons.

“If we can understand China, we have the ability and possibility to understand the entire iron-ore market,” Ericsson said.

He predicted that in 2030, iron-ore demand would reach 3.5-billion tons, which meant demand would almost double over the next 20 years. “[This] is a slower growth rate than we have seen earlier but still fairly robust,” commented Ericsson.

Iron-ore demand is closely linked to the economic development of countries such as China and India and increased standards of living in these and other developing countries.
 

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