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China begins mining iron from tailings, low-grade ore that can meet its demand for decades
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Zhang Tongin BeijingPublished: 11:00am, 6 Sep 2026China has launched a world-first industrial-scale facility to extract iron from previously discarded mine tailings and ultra-low-grade ore, turning waste into a valuable resource that can reduce its dependency on overseas supply.
According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) last Tuesday, a production line capable of processing 5.56 million tonnes of refractory iron ore and tailings per year has passed official checks and is now running steadily.
China is the world’s largest iron ore user, absorbing more than half the global supply. However, relying on imports for more than 80 per cent of its needs – mainly from Australia and Brazil – has long undermined its bargaining power and supply security.
On the other hand, China has the fourth-largest iron ore reserves, yet most are low grade, and nearly half are too hard and costly to process with standard methods. So huge amounts remain unused.
The new breakthrough aims precisely at making those hard-to-use ores viable.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that the technology could fundamentally strengthen China’s ability to secure its own iron resources and reduce its heavy dependence on imports of the strategic commodity.
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