Mining iron ore could become more profitable again, with the value of ferrous metal rising to encouraging heights again says a commodity pricing agency.
The Steel Index found the Northern China import price of 62 per cent iron ore recently jumped 4.1 per cent to $83.50 per dry metric tonne, representing the highest price seen since September 2014.
China continues to be the top buyer of the raw material, with nearly 89 million tonnes of iron ore in December 2016. The Communist-ruled Asian nation creates more than half of the world’s steel, importing one billion tonnes for the first time in the year 2016 – a 7.5 per cent increase on the annual total from the year before.
Iron ore prices have doubled in value over the last 12 months, following decade lows of $37 a tonne seen back in late 2015 and a boom-time peak of $191.90 a tonne during 2011.
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