A new iron ore reserve discovered in Brazil's Mato Grosso state might be the world's largest source of the raw material, international news sources report.
According to a statement by the state government, a major mineral deposit discovery with an estimated 11.5 billion mt of iron ore of 41 percent Fe grade has been registered.
The deposit is very likely to beat Brazilian iron ore giant Vale SA's Carajas reserves in the state of Para that involves 7.1 billion mt of proven and probable reserves according to Vale data.
Although the Carajas deposit is smaller than the Mato Grosso deposit, it has relatively high ore grades of 67 percent iron content, reports said, adding that GME4 do Brasil Participacoes & Empreendimentos SA, a company controlled by Brazilian bank Opportunity, owns the exploration rights in the 70 square kilometer area.