Iron Ore: The Fuel for Global Steel and Infrastructure

Towards the end of 2023, TAKRAF signed a major contract with Rio Tinto for the delivery of an integrated In-Pit Crushing & Conveying (IPCC) and material handling system for the Simandou iron ore complex in Guinea. The Simandou iron ore project is one of the largest unexploited high-grade iron ore deposits in the world. 

The contract entails the design, fabrication and delivery of an advanced and integrated IPCC and material handling system. In order to achieve the desired annual production rate, the crushing system was sized with a design capacity of up to 13,200 t/h, with all stockyard equipment also having been designed with scalability in mind, laying the foundation for future expansions.

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Iron ore production requires significant geological understanding, large-scale infrastructure and responsible environmental management.

• Geological and Technical Requirements: Iron ore can appear as concentrations of hematite (Fe₂O₃) or magnetite (Fe₃O₄). The iron content and level of impurities (such as silica, phosphorus and alumina) determine the ore’s market value and the cost of beneficiation, with higher-grade ores being easier and cheaper to process. Most iron ore is mined through open-pit operations, which demand large-scale equipment and where our large, technically capable and efficient TAKRAF mining and/or material handling equipment can really make the difference.
   
• Infrastructure Requirements: Iron ore mining is highly infrastructure-dependent, with mines often located in remote regions, requiring major investment in railways, haul roads and port facilities to ship ore to domestic or international markets. Furthermore, the crushing, grinding and beneficiation processes consume large amounts of power. This is another area where our efficient and reliable TAKRAF equipment, including our comminution solutions and/or our DELKOR processing solutions can assist.
   
• Environmental and Tailings Management: TAKRAF Group’s Dry Stack Tailings (DST) systems can provide for the safe and effective management of iron tailings and offer a number of advantages to other surface tailings storage options – these include (amongst others):
  • Significant safety improvements
  • Reduced water requirements, principally achieved by recycling process water
  • Virtual elimination of groundwater contamination through seepage
  • Smaller tailings footprint and can be used in “aggressive surroundings” (e.g. undulating or steep)
  • Significantly enhanced regulator and public perceptions
  • Easier to close and rehabilitate
     
• Sustainable Production: Iron ore mining must balance profitability with environmental and social responsibility, which includes the adoption of automation, digital mine management and low-emission technologies which help to improve operational efficiency and safety.

Iron ore is essential to our modern global economy, with almost all of the ore that is mined used to make steel. Steel itself is one of the most widely manufactured materials because of its high strength, durability and relatively low cost. Steel is used in a vast range of applications, from buildings and transportation to tools, appliances and various everyday products.

• Chemical symbol for iron*: Fe
• World iron ore mine production (2024p): 2,500
• Iron ore mine production, top 4 countries: Australia, Brazil, China and India

Value in million tons; p = preliminary.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

* There is no single chemical symbol for iron ore because it is a rock composed of various iron-bearing minerals, such as hematite (Fe₂O₃) or magnetite (Fe₃O₄).

Demand for iron ore is strongly correlated with steel output. Countries with fast-growing infrastructure drive much of the growth in demand. Global steel production remains heavily concentrated in China, which also accounts for a large share of iron ore imports. 

As steel decarbonization becomes a priority, the quality of iron ore increasingly matters, as cleaner ores with lower impurities (such as silica, alumina, phosphorus) help reduce the downstream energy requirement for steelmaking and reduce pollutant emissions.

Green steel from iron ore is made by using green hydrogen and renewable energy to reduce the ore into a sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron or DRI) instead of using traditional, carbon-intensive methods that rely on coal. The DRI is then melted and processed into steel, typically in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) powered by renewables, significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to conventional steelmaking.

Iron ore recycling refers to the reuse of steel and iron scrap to produce new steel, reducing the need for freshly mined iron ore. Although iron itself cannot be “recycled” in its raw ore form, the metal derived from it - steel - is infinitely recyclable without any material loss of quality.

Just under one third of the world’s steel is currently made from recycled scrap. As industries and governments push toward low-carbon and circular production, the proportion of recycled steel is expected to steadily rise.

Iron ore mining is the foundation of the global steel industry, supplying the essential raw material for global construction, manufacturing and infrastructure. It is a resource-intensive but strategically vital sector, requiring large-scale operations, advanced logistics and responsible environmental management. As the world transitions toward low-carbon steelmaking and sustainable production, the future of iron ore mining will depend on improving efficiency, maintaining high ore quality and adopting cleaner, more socially responsible practices to ensure long-term sustainability.

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