In this piece, we are going to discuss 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024. If you wish to skip our detailed discussion on Iron Ore mining industry, you can go directly to 5 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
Market size for global iron ore sector reached $420.08 billion in 2023, and is going to hit $590.03 billion by 2028 – that’s a whopping 7.1% yearly growth rate. Iron, 98 % of which is utilized for making steel, eventually contributes to construction industry, in the making of buildings, bridges and overall infrastructure.
Interestingly, there’s a construction boom in countries like India and China, which is playing a significant role in bolstering the iron ore market. Top of the chart is China, with Japan, India, and Korea following. Iron ore market comprises various types of iron ore like hematite, magnetite, limonite, and siderite, most significant of which is Hematite with an expected growth rate of 2.82% each year. In terms of demographics, Asia-Pacific region is one of the leaders of the global iron ore market, with projected growth of 2.69% annually.
In contrast, 9th biggest iron producer of the world was U.S. in 2022, with its production growing steadily at a rate of 0.41% over the past five years, with even more rapid growth of 2% expected from 2022 to 2026. While U.S. share is only 2% of the global production, Australia, Brazil, India, and China are big players of the global industry. America’s iron ore exports saw an uptick of 0.28% in 2022, with Canada being the biggest importer of its iron ore. 2% growth in iron ore exports are expected of U.S. between the 2022-2026 period.
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) and Cliffs stand out as the two of the biggest iron ore mining companies of America.
In December 2023, moves were made on United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) by Nippon Steel, which is a big Japanese player – move amounting to a cool $14.1 billion. Under this move, Nippon Steel shall be paying $55 per share in cash, which was 40% higher than United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) share price, as of 15 December.
On the other hand, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) plays out as one of the biggest North American flat-rolled steel producer. Moreover, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) is also the largest iron ore pellets maker in the region. And listen to this - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. bagged a cool $575 million of federal funding, in relation to couple projects that are eyeing to transform steel production towards becoming eco-friendly and electric, while keeping eye out for alternative options using scrap materials.
Finally, coming on to Australia, which is the top most player of the global industry, extracted whopping 944.1 million tons in 2022. Australian iron ore market sees most of the action happening in Western Australia, where iron production count is 99% of the country’s total production. Iron ore production in Australia was seen to be quite steady in 2023 with only 0.3% growth, while an uptick of 3.1% is expected in 2024. And note this – iron production in the country is set to reach 1,220.2 million tons 2030, which is a cool 3.8% annual growth.
Furthermore, upcoming projects like Onslow, Jimblebar Expansion, and Western Range are expected to kick off soon, steadying Australia’s iron production game. Lastly, the huge iron ore reserve in the Western Australia, holding 45.2 billion tons of iron resources, keeps the iron ore outlook bright and shiny for Australia, justifying their whopping $68.38 billion exported iron ore to China in 2023.
With this, let’s now jump on to our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024
A large steel ingot being forged with sparks flying from a steel mill.
Methodology
For our list of the 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024, we ranked the companies on the basis of market capitalization. The market capitalization figures in Australian Dollars were converted to US Dollars, as of March 21, 2024. With this, now we take you to our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
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20. Hawsons Iron Limited
Market Capitalization: $19.80 million
Hawsons Iron Limited is one of the biggest iron ore mining companies in Australia. Efforts are extended by them into their flagship Hawsons Iron Project near Broken Hill the prime location for top-notch iron ore. It is 20th company on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
By 2023 end, the company has already half-completed their follow-up drilling program, moving closer to having a tighter grip on the magnetite riches in the Fold Zone, situated across their Hawsons Iron Project in Far West New South Wales.
19. Havilah Resources Limited
Market Capitalization: $34.11 million
Havilah, yet another big player in the iron ore mining industry of Australia, has got its grab on over 15,000 kilometers of land in the Curnamona Province of northeastern South Australia, rich in mineral. It consists of the world’s biggest lead-zinc reserve in Broken Hill – this all is an outcome of the company’s 20 years long exploration work in the country. The resources tapped on to by the company include 1.3 million tons of copper, 3.2 million ounces of gold, 43,400 tons of cobalt, cool 451 million tons of iron ore, plus some molybdenum, tin, and uranium.
18. Iron Road Limited
Market Capitalization: $34.91 million
Iron Road Ltd is one of the biggest players in the Australian iron ore market, sitting at 18th place on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia in 2024. They have been doing the works since 2008, with a set goal of creating a top-notch magnetite mine and infrastructure in South Australia.
In their recent earnings report for the half-year ending on December 31, 2023, they reported their net loss falling further, from $0.24 million in the previous year to $0.56 million.
17. Genmin Limited
Market Capitalization: $59.70 million
Next, let’s move on to Genmin, one of the emerging players in the realm of iron ore in the Republic of Gabon, across West Central Africa. They have bagged in three projects, while having full ownership in them; this is in relation to one mining permit and six exploration licenses that stretch across around 5,064 square kilometers.
For the first half of the year, 2023, ending on June 30, the company reported a revenue of $0.008 million, up from $0.003 million a year before. Net loss of $6.86 million was seen by the company, indicating not so smooth outing for the company till half-end of the year.
16. Legacy Iron Ore Limited
Market Capitalization: $75.55 million
Legacy Iron Ore is a lively exploration company based in Perth, Australia, with their eyes set on Iron ore, gold, and base metals. It is 16th company on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
They are off to kick start mining at their Mount Celia gold deposit in Western Australia, after having gotten the green signal from the government at 2023 end. Serious treasures seem to soon be uncovered by them!
15. Red Hawk Mining Limited
Market Capitalization: $88.65 million
Red Hawk Mining Limited is a company that’s all about mining some top-notch iron ore near-term, with the Blacksmith Project being their prime focus. Teaming up with MGM Bulk Pty Ltd (MGM Bulk), they are looking on to handling transportation of iron ore from Blacksmith project to the Utah Point bulk handling facility in Port Hedland.
This team-up will smooth things up, from prefeasibility study to final feasibility study, to optimization of logistics strategy, eventually leading them to utmost productivity and cost efficiency.
14. Centaurus Metals Limited
Market Capitalization: $96.96 million
Out there in south-east Brazil, Jambreiro Project is owned fully by the Centaurus Metals Limited, which is an Aussie mineral exploration company. The project, boasting a potential to pump out up to 3 million tons of iron ore per year, is a total game-changer in the Brazilian Iron ore and steel industry, amidst sweet iron ore prices. Centaurus is 14th company on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
Moreover, Centaurus came out with a bang with a Pre-feasibility study in July 2019, showcasing that a 1-million-ton start-up would result in $0.69 billion in revenue over a period of 18 years, along with $348 million EBITDA.
13. Fenix Resources Limited
Market Capitalization: $126.90 million
Fenix Resources Limited, an Australian company, is all about iron ore production in the Mid-West mining region of Western Australia. The prime focus is on the Iron Ridge project in Geraldton. By producing 1.3 million tons each year and successfully shipping over 3 million tons, the company is keeping itself strong in the game, while keeping its cash flow steady as well.
12. Brockman Mining Limited
Market Capitalization: $139.37 million
Based in Hong Kong, Brockman Mining Limited, along with being investment holding company, is also in the game of mining, dealing mostly in hematite in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Their projects lie just next to big players in the Australian iron ore world.
Their project mix includes projects like Marillana and Ophthalmia, former of which is the crown jewel in Australia, boasting a huge 1.63 billion tons reserve of hematite mineral resources, along with a staggering 1 billion tons of hematite ore reserves as well. Brockman is 12th company on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
11. Red Hill Minerals Limited
Market Capitalization: $235.75 million
Red Hill Minerals is a company that’s resting in a sweet spot as a strong successful explorer. Recently, a sweet deal was concluded by them in September 2021, which resulted in them disposing off their 40% stake in the Red Hill Iron Ore Joint venture to Minerals Resources Limited, worth $261 million in cash, along with a 0.75% royalty.
The first $130.5 million have already been grabbed on to by the company, with the next $130.5 million soon to be collected as well, once the first shipment of iron ore leaves out. Moreover, the company is eyeing its first iron ore export target by June 2024 from the Ashburton Hub.
10. Grange Resources Limited
Market Capitalization: $313.61 million
Grange Resources has been in the iron ore scenes since more than 55 years. Known as the top producer of iron ore pellets in Australia, it has associations with one of the largest iron ore mining and pellet production setups in the country, in northwest Tasmania.
Its Savage River mine engages in producing top-notch pure magnetite iron ore, which is situated 100km southwest of Burnie. Additionally, their own pellet plant and port facility at Port Latta, located just 70km northwest of Burnie, extracts over 2.5 million tons of primo iron ore products every year. The company is placed 10th on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
9. Mount Gibson Iron Limited
Market Capitalization: $345.07 million
Mount Gibson Iron Limited, top Aussie player in the iron ore realm, are known as top-notch shipping grade iron ore products, with assets placed in the Kimberley and Mid West regions of Western Australia.
They recently announced that they scored an after-tax net profit of $90.5 million in the half-year ending on December 31, making a big jump from the $4.8 million they bagged in the same period one year ago.
8. BCI Minerals Limited
Market Capitalization: $434.93 million
BCI Minerals Limited, an Aussie mineral resources company, started off with salt and potash. They are chilling through the quarterly royalty earnings coming in from the Iron Valley iron ore mine situated in the Central Pilbara region of Western Australia, operated by Mineral Resources Limited. BCI is 8th on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
In addition to this, they have got themselves in some other pies, with stakes in Agrimin Limited and Highfield Resources Ltd; furthermore, new potential royalties are lined up from iron ore projects like Koodaideri South, Bungaroo South, Kumina, and Nullagine.
Coming on to their financial performance, they bagged revenue of $28.77 million for the half-year ending 31 December 2023, which is a cool 153% uptick from their previous year revenue. However, a bit of downturn was experienced by them, suffering with a net loss of $484,000, which was down from the profit figure of $2.09 million in the same period, a year ago.
7. Deterra Royalties Limited
Market Capitalization: $1.66 billion
So, Deterra is all about those royalties, holding six sweet deals in their portfolio that help them extend the life of assets and explore new opportunities. They're all about snatching up royalties from others and providing some cash to mining companies in exchange for a cut.
One of their top assets is the Iron Ore – MAC Royalty, which is a big deal in the iron ore game. This action goes down at Mining Area C, about 90km up north-west of Newman Township in the iron ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia. BHP runs the show there, and Mining Area C is set to become the largest iron ore hub worldwide, churning out a massive 145 million tons of the good stuff every year once the new South Flank expansion hits full swing. It's a massive operation in a top-notch iron ore region!
Deterra's deal with BHP, Itochu, and Mitsui for the MAC area includes: Quarterly royalties of 1.232% of Aussie revenue, and one-time bonuses of $0.65 million per million dry ton production increase in a year above the highest previous level by June 30.
6. Champion Iron Limited
Market Capitalization: $2.49 billion
Champion, along with its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore Inc., operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex down in Quebec, north of Fermont. Cool 15 million tons of iron ore concentrate each year are extracted by the two concentrators in here, hitting the 66.2% iron grade. They are known for making the 67.5% iron direct reduction concentrate as well.
For the quarter ended 31 December 2023, they saw their revenue surging to $373.19 million, which was a 44% increase, compared to the same period a year ago, also helping it secure a net income of cool $93.13 million, which was a 146% increase. Champion is 6th on our list of 20 Biggest Iron Ore Mining Companies in Australia, 2024.
