Below are some interesting facts about the iron ore business you may be interested to know. For the full article follow:

http://marketrealist.com/2014/07/must-know-basics-iron-ore/

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Must-know: An overview of the iron ore industry

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Must-know: An overview of the iron ore industry (Part 1 of 13)

Must-know: The basics of iron ore

By Anuradha Garg • Jul 16, 2014 4:47 pm EDT

The basics of iron ore

Iron ore is the fourth most abundant element on the earth’s crust after oxygen, silicon, and aluminium—it forms about 5% of it. It’s present in the form of rocks and minerals from which ore can be extracted. It’s most often found in the form of hematite and magnetite deposits, although goethite, limonite, and siderite deposits are also common. These deposits vary with the percentage of the iron content present. More content means better quality ore, less cost, and less time consumed during the iron extraction.

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Hematite has the highest iron ore content of 70%. This type of deposit is most abundant in Brazil, Australia, and some parts of Asia—mainly China and surrounding areas. Major producers Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Billiton (BHP) mine from deposits in western Australia, which is rich in iron content. Vale (VALE) also has exposure to high content hematite deposits in the Minas Gerais area which lies in southeast Brazil. However, Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) is exposed mainly to magnetite deposits in North America. These companies form close to 18% of the iShares S&P Global Materials Sector Index Fund (MXI).

http://marketrealist.com/2014/07/must-know-basics-iron-ore/