IRON ORE

Iron ore is the raw material behind civilization's most-used metal. It's the naturally occurring rock, mainly in the form of hematite and magnetite, that gets mined and processed into iron and steel. Iron ore comprises more than 60% iron compounds, most of which are magnetite or hematite, and it is the third most abundant element on Earth, which is a big part of why it's so cheap relative to metals like copper or gold despite being mined and traded at a colossal scale, global production reached approximately 2,489 million tonnes in 2023, supporting steel manufacturing in over 50 producing countries.

 

Unlike copper (industrial demand spread across many sectors) or gold (dominated by investment and central bank buying), iron ore has an almost singular purpose: making steel. Around 98% of mined iron ore is used in steelmaking, underpinning global infrastructure and industrial demand, and the top four producing countries account for roughly 78% of global output, led by Australia at around 38.6% and Brazil at around 17.7%. On the demand side, iron ore exports globally hit 1,600 million tonnes in 2024, up 2% compared to 2023, and global crude steel production reached 1,882.6 million tonnes in 2024, giving a sense of just how much of the built world— buildings, bridges, railways, cars, machinery— traces back to this one commodity.

 

Steel's uses explain iron ore's importance: it's the backbone material for construction, infrastructure, automotive manufacturing, and heavy industry, which is why iron ore demand tracks so closely with urbanization and industrialization trends in emerging economies. Producers are increasingly focused on sustainability and responsible sourcing, and the industry is shifting toward higher-grade ore and beneficiation to support hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron (H2-DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, greener production routes that require cleaner, more concentrated ore than traditional blast furnaces. That shift mirrors what's happening across metals more broadly: even in a commodity as old and bulk-driven as iron ore, the frontier of growth is increasingly tied to decarbonization rather than volume alone.