Iron Ore in Australia

It is more common than air, but invaluable to our society. We use it to build, craft and make steel and other alloys, and it shows up in everything from buildings to utensils.

Iron is one of the fundamental elements used by humans. It makes sense, then, to consider iron as an investment opportunity. The ubiquity of the metal, not just in our environment, but in our daily life, shows off its value. That value can be translated into an investor's portfolio.

When we specifically talk about iron in Australia, we are talking about the largest export in the country — it just narrowly edges out coal. Both the price and the production of iron have increased over the past five years, with most of Australia's iron being mined in Western Australia.

More than 37 percent, amounting to around 900 million tonnes, of the world's iron exports come from Australia. In this regard, Australia ranks number one globally. Its nearest rival is Brazil, with 400 million tonnes of iron exports, accounting for 16.7 percent — less than half of Australia's output.

Although the iron price is down in 2022, that's only compared to the massive highs it saw last year. Ignoring 2021's iron price spike, the iron price has not been at the levels seen currently since 2013.

The outlook is that this price trend will not continue indefinitely, and might take a few hits over the next several years. The Australian government expects price averages to drop from AU$142 per tonne in 2021 to AU$66 by 2023, and the profitability of that decline is questionable. Ultimately, the expectation is that the industry will remain solid, but will not continue to experience the exciting climb that it has, up until recently, enjoyed.

So why should investors consider iron? The short answer is that iron is here to stay. Market fluctuations are one thing — these ups and downs happen — but because of the nature of iron and how much people use and need the metal, at the end of the day, this industry is essential to our way of life.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Ryan Sero, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.