Russia. Russia produced 240 million metric tonnes of iron ore in 1988. Russia occupies the first place by leading the USA in iron ore production. Russia has great reserves of high-grade hematites with approximately 45 to 60 percent of metallic iron. The important districts producing ore are the Magnitogorsk in South Ural and the area south of the Tula coalfield. Although coal and iron are separated by a long distance exceeding 1000 miles by rail, two-way haulage of coal and iron ore according to the 'pendulum' principle reduces the costs ordinarily assumed to be incidental to carrying coal to iron ore. Kuznetz coal comes to Urals and the ores go to the Kuznetz basin in the same trains.
Krivoi Rog in South Ukraine, has a little over 2 billion tons of high-grade ore.
France: France is the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world, producing 56 million metric tons in 1988. The major producing areas are Lorraine, Normandy and Pyrenees. The Lorraine district is second to Lake Superior region of U.S.A in the production of iron ore. The Lorraine district supplies about 95 per cent of country's total. It is the largest single ore-body reserve in Europe.
Sweden: Sweden holds an important place as a producer of iron ore in the world. She raised 34 million metric tons of iron ore in 1988. The areas of ore production are Kiruna and Dennemora. The ore averages above 60 per cent iron. The reserves are of magnetite iron ore. The average production is a little over 11 million metric tons of which 80 per cent is exported, because of shortage of coal
Canada: Canada holds an important place as a producer of iron ore in the world. She produced 52 million tons of iron ore in 1988. The areas of production are Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Vancouver island. The metallic content of the ore is 55 per cent.
UK: The approximate metal content of U.K. ore is 30 per cent. In 1988 her iron ore production amounted to 14 million metric tons. The area of eastern England is the most important in output of iron ore.
Germany: Iron ore are raised from the Saar and from Vogelsburg, Erzeburg, Westphalia in West Germany. West Germany produced about 6 million metric tons in 1985 and East Germany produced only 1.3 million metric tons.
South America: There are three major areas of active exploitation of iron ore in South America, i.e. Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. Chile's principal centre of iron ore production is at El Tofo mines, northeast of Coquimbo, with a large reserve of high-grade ore containing about 60 per cent of iron. The iron ore production amounted to 10 million metric tons in 1988.
Brazil has one of the largest reserves of iron ore in the world. At Itabira in the state of Minas Gerais, there is a reserve of about 3 billion tons of ore with 70 per cent iron content. Brazil produced 16 million metric tons in 1988. Venezuela has a huge reserve of high-grade ore. Her iron ore production in 1988 was 16 million metric tons.
Africa. In northern Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, Spanish and French Morocco accounted for about 6 million metric tons of iron ore in 1976. In central Africa there are extensive deposits of low-grade ore with 25-30 per cent iron content. In South Africa Transvaal, ores are of high grade with 60 to 65 per cent iron content. The total reserves have been estimated at 10 billion tons in South Africa. In 1985 Algeria and South Africa produced about 2 million and 4 million metric tons respectively.
Australia: The principal production comes from South Australia and New South Wales. The production of iron ore was about 70 million metric tons in 1988.
Asia: Larger deposits of high quality iron ore occur in Mindanao in the Philippine islands and production in 1988 was 1 million metric tons.
India has large reserves of high grade, low phosphorus ore with 61 per cent iron content. Large deposits occur in Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. All these deposits except some of the magnetite mining ore regions of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka belong to the hematite group. The average annual production of iron ore during 1961-88 was 41 million metric tons.
China produced 48 million metric tons of crude iron ore in 1988. Iron ore is scattered widely in China, mostly south of Yangtze River near Hankow and in northern China. The deposits in Manchuria are reported to be extensive but of low grade. The ore contains 60 per cent iron and enough lime.
Japan is weak in iron ore and in coking coal There are only two important fields at Senin on the east coast of Honshu and the other at Muroran in Hokkaido. Japan produced 1.8 million metric tons of iron ore in 1988.
Trade in iron ore: There is a large volume of international trade in iron ore as major producers of iron and steel do not produce enough iron ore to meet their needs. The increasing demand for high-grade iron ore has encouraged mining in other countries. The main exporting nations are Brazil, Australia Canada, and India. These four countries together account for about 70% of total exports. Sweden, Venezuela, Algeria and Liberia are minor exporting nations.
Japan is the world's largest importer of iron ore accounting for 45% of world's total The other importing countries are Germany, the United States, Great Britain, Italy and France. These countries import iron ore as local supply has been exhausted or is of low grade.
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