the price of iron ore on the global market
Short Answer - about US$70 per tonne The long answer Iron ore is priced in US$/dmtu. or dry metric tonne unit. This represents 1% of contained iron per dry (no contained water) metric tonne of ore. This results in a change in price depending on the grade (or contained metal) in the ore. Prices are usually negotiated for year long contracts by the major producers, CVRD, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Prices do vary depending on the product i.e. direct feed ore or manufactured pellets) The 2007 price which has recently been settled for direct feed ore is about $1.03/dmtu. This ore usually grades between 60% and 68% iron content, so $62 to $70 per tonne of ore sounds about right. Sinter fines will be about 20% less than this, and pellets will be about 25% more. This is a very high price, more than double what it was a few years ago.
