Author:
Name & Surname: Pomelnikov I. I.
Company: Mining Union of Russia (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: Vice President
Scientific Degree: Candidate of Engineering Sciences
Contacts: mining-union@bk.ru

The iron ore production lost nearly half its price in the world market in 2014 and the landslide of price is persisting, considering excessive supply from the largest countries–exporters such as Australia and Brazil and in view of enormous reserves stocked in port warehouses in the People’s Republic of China. In 2012 Chinese iron ore mines produced some 1.5 billion tons of low grade iron ore (equivalent to 400 million tons of import iron ore) at a high expense; at the same time, China became the largest iron ore importer in the world—over 930 Mt. The import dependence of Chinese metallurgists may soon reach 90% as cheap and quality iron ore supply from Australia and Brazil can go up by 40% by 2017 and the annual iron ore export may make 1.27 Bt. The iron ore industry in Russia suffered decline in recession years: total crude ore production reduced by 6% in 2008 and by 13% in 2013 as against 2007, concurrent reduction grasped production of iron ore pellets and concentrates as well as cast iron. Having recovered after the economic crisis aftereffects, Russia’s domestic iron ore industry reached sustainable crude ore output of some 300 Mt/yr in 2011–2014. During 2014 domestic mines experienced no fever despite Western sanctions against Russia. Majority of the iron ore mines have backup for maintenance and growth of ore mining capacities. The iron ore traffic level is still very high in Russia owing to unbalanced geographical arrangement of mining, processing and metallurgical plants: central regions of the country hold excessive iron ore reserves while the Ural and Siberia incur a deficit.

1. O sostoyanii i ispolzovanii mineralno-syrevykh resursov Rossiyskoy Federatsii v 2012 godu : Gosudarstvennyy doklad Minprirody Rossii (About the state and use of Russian minerals in 2012 : State Report of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation). Moscow : LLC «Informationanalytical center «Mineral», 2013. 346 p. (in Russian)
2. V 2014 godu tempy rosta vyplavki stali v Kitae okazalis minimalnymi za poslednie 33 goda (For the last 33 years, the growth rates of steel smelting in China in 2014 have become minimal). Biznes Novosti (Business News). Available at: http://biznes-explorer.ru/v-2014-godu-tempy-rosta-vyplavki-stali-v-kitaeokazalis-minimalnymi-za-poslednie-33-goda.html (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
3. Regulyator Kitaya ogranichil kreditnye skhemy pod zalog zheleznoy rudy (Chinese regulator has limited the credit arrangements on iron ore security). MT5.com. Forex Trading Portal. Available at: http://www.mt5.com/ru/prime_news/fullview/7621/ (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
4. Import nefti i zheleznoy rudy v Kitay dostig rekorda (Oil and iron ore import in China has reached its record). Ramler Finansy (Rambler Finances). Available at: http://finance.rambler.ru/news/economics/156536604.html (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
5. Zheleznaya ruda proshchupyvaet dno (Iron ore probes the bottom). Investfunds UA. Available at: http://investfunds.ua/news/zheleznaya-ruda-prowupyvaetdno-minprom-127235/ (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
6. Zheleznaya ruda – uzhe nizhe $60 za tonnu (Iron ore has already dropped below $60 per ton). Novosti rynka metallov : Internet-portal Metaltorg (Metal market news : Internet-portal Metaltorg). Available at: http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/9A324C (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)

7. Tsena na zheleznuyu rudu upala do 21-mesyachnogo minimuma (Iron ore price has dropped to the 21-month minimum). SOYUZ-LITE : Informatsionnyy resurs po liteynomu proizvodstvu (SOYUZ-LITE : Information foundry resource). Available at: http://lityo.com.ua/9602-tsena-na-zheleznuyu-rudu-upala-do-21-mesyachnogo-minimuma (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
8. Brazilskaya Vale uvelichila prodazhi v Kitay i Sredniy Vostok v 2014 godu (Brazilian Vale has increased the sales in China and in the Middle East in 2014). Metaltorg. Available at: http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/9A30D8 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
9. Fortescue narashchivaet otgruzki zheleznoy rudy i snizhaet zatraty (Fortescue increases the iron ore shipping and decreases the costs). Allmetals. Available at: http://www.allmetals.ru/index.php?id=36651 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
10. Eksport zheleznoy rudy iz Brazilii v 2015 godu prodolzhit rost (Iron ore export from Brazil in 2015 continues its growth). SOYUZ-LITE : Informatsionnyy resurs po liteynomu proizvodstvu (SOYUZ-LITE : Information foundry resource). Available at: http://lityo.com.ua/14554-eksport-zheleznoj-rudy-iz-brazilii-v-2015-godu-prodolzhit-rost (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
11. Rio prodolzhit rasshiryat proizvodstvo (Rio continues to increase the production). Metaltorg.ru. Available at: http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/9A1E29 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
12. Rio Tinto ne trevozhit padenie tsen na zheleznuyu rudu – gendirektor (Iron ore price drop does not bother Rio Tinto – Chief Executive Officer). Metallosnabzhenie i sbyt = Metal supply and sales. Available at: http://www.metalinfo.ru/ru/news/75003 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
13. Vale ne ozhidaet dlitelnogo padeniya tsen na zheleznuyu rudu (Vale does not expect a long-term drop of iron ore prices). Allmetals. Available at: http://www.allmetals.ru/index.php?id=31286 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
14. Avstraliyskie rudari uvelichivayut skidki dlya kitayskikh potrebiteley (Australian miners increase the discounts for Chinese consumers). Metallosnabzhenie i sbyt = Metal supply and sales. Available at: http://www.metalinfo.ru/ru/news/72001 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
15. Kitayskie rudari uvelichat profitsit zheleznoy rudy na mirovom rynke (Chinese miners will increase the iron ore surplus on the global market). Metallosnabzhenie i sbyt = Metal supply and sales. Available at: http://www.mineral.ru/News/61469.html (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
16. CISA sozdaet lobbi dlya sokrashcheniya nalogov na zheleznuyu rudu (CISA creates the lobby for iron ore tax reduction). Metallurgicheskiy byulleten = Metallurgical bulletin. Available at: http://www.metalbulletin.ru/news/ores/10092302/ (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
17. Kitayskiy import zheleznoy rudy iz Avstralii v 2014 godu vyros na 31,6% (Chinese iron ore import from Australia was increased by 31.6% in 2014). SOYUZ-LITE : Informatsionnyy resurs po liteynomu proizvodstvu (SOYUZ-LITE : Information foundry resource). Available at: http://lityo.com.ua/15029-kitajskijimport-zheleznoj-rudy-iz-avstralii-v-2014-godu-vyros-na-31-6 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
18. Proizvoditeley zheleznoy rudy v Kitae ozhidaet zakrytie v 2015 godu (Chinese iron ore producers are gonna be closed in 2015). RosInvest.Com. Available at: http://rosinvest.com/novosti/1174260 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
19. Kitay mozhet snizit nalogi dlya mestnykh proizvoditeley zheleznoy rudy (China can reduce the taxes for local iron ore manufacturers). Metaltorg. Available at: http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/99C7B9 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
20. Ponizhenie sleduet (To be decreased). Rusmet.Ru. Available at: http://www.rusmet.ru/promnews/show/63249/Ponizhenie_sleduet (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
21. Kitayskie metallurgi otkazyvayutsya ot dolgosrochnykh kontraktov na zheleznuyu rudu (Chinese metallurgists refuse the long-term iron ore agreements). Metallosnabzhenie i sbyt = Metal supply and sales. Available at: http://www.metalinfo.ru/ru/news/71568 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
22. Indiyskie proizvoditeli vynuzhdeny importirovat zheleznuyu rudu na fone prostoya rudnikov (Indian manufacturers have to import iron ore against open pit shutdown). SOYUZ-LITE : Informatsionnyy resurs po liteynomu proizvodstvu (SOYUZ-LITE : Information foundry resource). Available at: http://lityo.com.ua/10312-indijskie-proizvoditeli-vynuzhdeny-importirovat-zheleznuyu-rudu-na-fone-prostoya-rudnikov (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
23. Indiya stremitelno narashchivaet import zheleznoy rudy (India quickly increases iron ore import). Informatsionno-analiticheskiy tsentr «Mineral» (Information-analytical center «Mineral»). Available at: http://www.mineral.ru/News/66691.html (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
24. Indiya cherez 6 let budet dobyvat svyshe 280 millionov tonn zheleznoy rudy (In 6 years, India will extract more than 280 min. t of iron ore). Catalog2. Available at: http://www.catalog2b.ru/news/a1695-indiya-cherez-6-let-budet-dobyvat-svyshe (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
25. Kurs dollara 2012 (Dollar rate 2012). Kurs-Dollar-Euro. Available at: http://kurs-dollar-euro.ru/dollar-2012.html (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)
26. Petlevoy V. Deshevaya ruda podvela «Metalloinvest» (Cheap ore let down the «Metalloinvest»). Vedomosti = «Vedomosti» newspaper. 2014. No. 3724.
27. O sostoyanii i ispolzovanii mineralno-syrevykh resursov Rossiyskoy Federatsii v 2010 godu : Gosudarstvennyy doklad Minprirody Rossii (About the state and use of Russian mineral resources in 2010 : State Report of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation). Moscow : Center «Mineral» of «Aerologiya» scientific-industrial enterprise, 2011. 418 p. (in Russian)
28. O sostoyanii i ispolzovanii mineralno-syrevykh resursov Rossiyskoy Federatsii v 2011 godu : Gosudarstvennyy doklad Minprirody Rossii (About the state and use of Russian mineral resources in 2011 : State Report of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation). Moscow : Center «Mineral» of «Aerologiya» scientific-industrial enterprise, 2012. 333 p. (in Russian)
29. Sukhoruchenkov A. I., Kornilov N. P. Sostoyanie i problemy razvitiya zhelezorudnoy bazy chernoy metallurgii Rossii (State and problems of development of iron ore base of Russian ferrous metallurgy). Gornyi Zhurnal = Mining Journal. 2005. No. 2. pp. 3–6.
30. Leyzerovich S. G., Pomelnikov I. I., Sidorchuk V. V., Tomaev V. K. Resursovosproizvodyashchaya bezotkhodnaya geotekhnologiya kompleksnogo osvoeniya mestorozhdeniy Kurskoy magnitnoy anomalii (Resource-production wasteless geotechnology of complex mastering of Kursk magnetic anomaly deposits). Under the scientific editorship of D. R. Kaplunov. Moscow : Gornaya kniga, 2012. 547 p.
31. Rybak V. L., Nalivayko A. S., Mikhaylov N. F. Opyt razrabotki Olenegorskogo mestorozhdeniya zhelezistykh kvartsitov podzemnym sposobom (Experience of underground mining of Olenegorsk deposit of ferruginous quartzites). Gornyi Zhurnal = Mining Journal. 2009. No. 7. pp. 23–26.
32. Mashkovtsev G. A. Mineralno-syrevaya baza chernykh i legiruyushchikh metallov Rossii i perspektivy ee razvitiya : videozapis doklada na gornopromyshlennom forume MAYNEKS-2014 (Mineral resource base of Russian ferrous and alloying materials and its development prospects : video of the report of mining-industrial forum MINEX-2014). Available at: http://profrazy.ru/show/UPc35RgbOfg/mineralno-syrevaya_baza_chernyh_i_legiruyuschih_metallov_mashkovtsev_vims.html (accessed: May 14, 2015).
33. Petrov A. EVRAZ Kachkanarskiy Gorno-Obogatitelnyy Kombinat v 2015 godu uvelichit dobychu zheleznoy rudy v Severnom karere (Evraz Kachkanarsky Ore Mining and Processing Enterprise will increase iron ore extraction in Severnyy open pit in 2015). SteelLand.Ru. Available at: http://www.steelland.ru/news/mining/4385.html (accessed: May 14, 2015).
34. Kimkano-Sutarskiy Gorno-Obogatitelnyy Kombinat nachal postavki zheleznoy rudy (Kimkan-Sutar Ore Dressing and Processing Enterprise has started iron ore supplies). Metallosnabzhenie i sbyt = Metal supply and sales. Available at: http://www.metalinfo.ru/ru/news/76254 (accessed: May 14, 2015). (in Russian)