Major Australian producers expand iron ore capacity
Considering the fact that
iron ore demand will continue to stay firm in
China, Australian major
iron ore producers
BHP Billiton and
Rio Tinto Plc are expanding their
production capacities. Furthermore, the prices of
iron ore are also expected to see an increase of about 3% in the coming years.
The companies believe that, due to the improving
construction sector in
China, the
iron ore demand will keep on rising and may even exceed an annual figure of 300 million mts in 5 or 6 years.
In line with such booming demand forecasts, the two giant Australian companies are expanding their capacities.
BHP is going to increase its annual capacity from its current 88.5 million tons to 100 million tons by 2004 and
Rio Tinto from 141.5 million tons to 183 million tons by 2006.