In 2002 iron ore sold for about $13 a tonne under a contract hammered out once a year behind closed doors between Brazilian and Australian miners and Japanese steelmakers. Today it is the second most traded commodity after crude oil, priced daily on futures exchanges in Singapore and Dalian, and the commodity behind some of the fattest profits mining has ever seen.
The Ore Wars, MINING.COM’s new interactive timeline, tells that story in 49 moments across seven acts, each pinned to a running price line that starts at $13, crashes to $37 in December 2015, hits a record $237.57 in May 2021 and closes this month near $91.
Seven acts
- The Benchmark Years (2002–2008): secret annual talks, a 71.5% price shock and BHP’s abandoned $140 billion bid for Rio Tinto.
- Prompt Delivery (2009–2011): the benchmark dies, Stern Hu is arrested and iron ore mints the fattest margins mining has ever seen.
- Iron ageing (2012–2014): the majors flood the market and the $120 floor gives way.
- The Long Winter (2015–2016): the Samarco disaster, $4,000-a-day capesizes and $37 a tonne.
- Taking Inventory (2016–2018): a futures feeding frenzy, a scrap over scrap and record portside piles.
- Disaster & Disruption (2019–2021): Brumadinho, Juukan Gorge, a pandemic and the highest price ever paid.
- The Sequel (2022–2026): China’s single buyer, a yuan-priced crack in the dollar system and Simandou at long last.