Iron ore is the most important material in the iron and steel industries, something the 15 largest iron ore producing countries in the world are well aware of. Like I said, iron ore is the basic material on which the global iron and steel industries, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, are based on. While many other materials have various uses, iron ore is more or less used in the production of steel in its entirety, or at least 98% of iron ore is used for this purpose.
Steel is perhaps the most important material we have and is present in almost every application around our lives, from construction and cars to even washing machines. You can learn more about the importance and uses of steel in the 15 largest steel producing countries in the world. If you compare the two articles, you will notice a lot of countries in common in the two lists, because of the intricate linkage between iron ores and steel production.
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So what exactly is an iron ore? Iron ores are rock or minerals in which iron is present, which can then be extracted. The ores generally contain a large concentration of iron oxides, which can even be found in several colors. The process goes something like this; iron ore is extracted from rocks, and is used to make pig iron (more information on which is available at 15 largest pig iron producing countries in the world), which in turn serves as the raw material for the production of steel.
Some companies have a significant interest in the iron ore industry, with the biggest companies with the largest market share in the iron ore industry including Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF), United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) and ArcelorMittal SA.
For determining our rankings, we have selected the 15 top countries which produce iron ore and ranked them according to their production in both 2018 and 2019 from Mineral Commodities Survey 2020. The truth is, there is very little change in the production of iron ore when comparing 2018 to 2019. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the countries largely responsible for the global production of iron ore, starting with number 15.
15. Chile
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 14,000
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 14,000
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14. Peru
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 14,200
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 15,000
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13. Mexico
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 22,300
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 23,000
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12. Sweden
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 35,800
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 37,000
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11. Iran
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 36,400
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 38,000
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10. Kazakhstan
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 41,900
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 43,000
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9. United States of America
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 49,500
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 48,000
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8. Canada
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 52,400
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 54,000
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7. Ukraine
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 60,300
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 62,000
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6. South Africa
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 74,300
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 77,000
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5. Russia
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 96,100
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 99,000
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4. India
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 205,000
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 210,000
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3. China
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 335,000
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 350,000
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2. Brazil
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 460,000
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 480,000
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1. Australia
Production of iron ore in 2018 (in thousand metric tons): 900,000
Production of iron ore in 2019 (in thousand metric tons): 930,000
Topping the list of the largest iron ore producing countries in the world is Australia, which has more production than the next two countries on this list! This should come as no surprise, considering that Australia’s iron ore reserves far surpass any other country, and are in fact over one third of the global identified reserves of iron ore.
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