Global iron ore production decreased by 3% to some 2.2 billion tonnes last year, but it is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 3.7 percent to about 2.66 billion tonnes between 2021 to 2025, according to figures released by data analytics company GlobalData.
The largest growth is to take place in Brazil, up 6.2 percent, South Africa, increasing by 4.1 percent, Australia, up 3.2 percent, and India, increasing by 2.9 percent, the firm said.
Vinneth Bajaj, an associate project manager at GlobalData, said in a statement that the declines “from Brazil and India were major contributors to the reduced output in 2020. Combined production from these two coun-tries fell from a collective 638.2 million tonnes in 2019 to an estimated 591.1 million tonnes in 2020.”
“The reduced output from the iron ore giant, Vale, was the key factor be-hind Brazil’s reduced output, while delays in the auctioning of mines in Odisha affected India’s output in 2020,” he said.