The Chinese Iron Ore Deposits and Ore Production

Abstract

Probably due to large national land area and multi-period orogeny, from the view of metallogeny, lots of iron deposits developed in China, and the proven total reserves of iron ores are relatively abundant, but mainly low-grade ores. For years, China’s iron ore reserves are far from being able to meet the requirement of rapid development of steel industry. China is the world’s largest importer of iron ore, whose imports accounted for one-third of the world’s total in recent decades; however, the buyer has not the final say. The strategic importance of iron ore resources in national economy not only depends on the social value and economic value created by the iron ore exploitation, but also depends on whether the requirements of the steel industry and steel downstream industry, and safety ensuring, economy and sustainability of steel and steel downstream industry. Herein, the iron mineral processing and metallurgy technology are also briefly illustrated.