Vale expects China to account for 90% of global iron ore demand

SINOSHIP, [28/06/12]
Sao Paulo: Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, expects Chinese demand for the mineral to keep rising in coming years, Jose Carlos Martins, executive director for ferrous minerals and strategy, said in Sao Paulo yesterday.

China’s demand for iron ore will rise to about 90% of global sales in coming years from about 80% now, Martins said.

The news chimes with March comments made by Rio Tinto reported on SinoShip’s LinkedIn site. Rio Tinto believes global iron ore supply additions for China alone will need to be at the rate of at least 100m tons each year in the coming five years.

However, more bearish is the other of the big three global miners, BHP Billiton which noted in a March report: "In the longer term, we expect the rate of growth in steelmaking raw materials demand, particularly in China, to decelerate as underlying economic growth rates revert to a more sustainable level."