China begins mining iron from tailings, low-grade ore that can meet its demand for decades

China has initiated a groundbreaking industrial-scale facility to extract iron from discarded mine tailings and ultra-low-grade ore, transforming waste into a valuable resource and potentially reducing its reliance on overseas supply. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) confirmed on Tuesday that a production line with a capacity of processing 5.56 million tonnes of refractory iron ore and tailings annually has passed inspections and is now operating smoothly.

As the world's largest consumer of iron ore, China absorbs more than half of the global supply, but its dependence on imports from Australia and Brazil for over 80 per cent of its needs has weakened its bargaining power and supply security. Meanwhile, China holds the fourth-largest iron ore reserves, yet most are low grade, and almost half are too hard and costly to process using conventional methods.

The new breakthrough aims to make these hard-to-use ores viable, addressing the vast amounts of unused ore. The technology involves a novel magnetising roasting technique that transforms non-magnetic iron minerals into magnetic ones, converting old waste into usable material. Zhu Qingshan, the head of the research team at CAS' Institute of Process Engineering, explained that the technology originated from the late academician Guo Musun's experiments in 1959, which were later halted.

Zhu revived the research in 2004, and after decades of scientific effort, the technology is now ready for large-scale industrial application. This breakthrough could unlock nearly 30 billion tonnes of refractory iron ore and 10 billion tonnes of iron-bearing tailings across China. The project, which recently passed inspection, consists of three production lines, each with an annual capacity of 1.85 million tonnes, starting operations in January at Anshan in Liaoning province, a key steelmaking region.

The facility currently produces 2.2 million tonnes of iron concentrate per year annually. Not only does the process consume 35 per cent less energy than comparable methods, reducing costs, but it has also been included in China's inaugural list of green and low-carbon demonstration projects by the National Development and Reform Commission.

However, this single project will not eliminate China's need for imports from Australia and Brazil. In 2025, China is projected to import over 1.25 billion tonnes of ore, far exceeding what this facility can produce. Nevertheless, the technology converts waste tailings into a useful resource, opening a new path forward. According to CAS, the project is a crucial part of Ansteel Group's broader plan to reprocess 24 million tonnes of iron tailings annually.