Steel from iron ore and coal to a car body: mined, smelted, rolled

By Alykhan Virani. Published 2026-10-11.

Part 12 of the series From source to store.

Making 1,000 kg of crude steel by the blast furnace and oxygen furnace route takes, on worldsteel’s average, 1,370 kg of ore and 780 kg of metallurgical coal, plus 270 kg of limestone and 125 kg of scrap, so 2.15 tonnes of ore and coal before the other two (worldsteel raw materials page, reference year not stated; the sum is this site’s arithmetic). That route made 69.4% of the 1,848.9 million tonnes of crude steel worldsteel counted for 2025 (World Steel in Figures 2026). On this site, steel production means raw steel, which worldsteel calls crude steel: USGS estimates 1.9 billion tonnes for 2025 (rounded), with about 52% of it in China, at 980 million tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); worldsteel’s own count is 1,848.9 million tonnes with China at 960.8 million, also about 52%, so the two sources differ by about 2%. Trade is a separate dataset, CEPII BACI customs records for 2024, where steel’s primary line is HS code 7208, hot-rolled flat steel, iron ore is HS 2601 and coal is HS 2701, which does not separate coking from thermal coal.

How the ingredients are mined

Australia and Brazil together mined 1,400 million of the world’s 2,600 million tonnes of usable ore in 2025 (USGS), and worldsteel describes their ore as moving by rail to dedicated ports before shipping (worldsteel, year not stated). Usable ore means ore in a form the steel industry can use, after any crushing, screening or concentrating; the 2,600 million tonnes hold 1,600 million tonnes of contained iron, an average grade of about 61% iron (both totals USGS-rounded; this site’s arithmetic). Australia mined 980 million tonnes of usable ore (about 38%), Brazil 420 million (about 16%), India 310 million (about 12%) and China 290 million (about 11%) (USGS 2026, estimates). In the year to 30 June 2026 BHP’s Western Australia iron ore operations produced 291.2 million wet tonnes on a 100% basis (BHP operational review, 16 July 2026), and Vale’s Northern System produced 39.6 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2026 (Vale, 21 July 2026). In the second quarter of 2026 Vale’s average realized price was US$137.0 a tonne for pellets and US$95.0 for fines (Vale, 21 July 2026). USGS lists 87 billion tonnes of contained-iron reserves for 2025, equal to about 54 times 2025 world output of contained iron, and reserves are revised each year (this site’s arithmetic; see how much is left).

The IEA estimated 2025 world metallurgical coal production at 1,126 million tonnes: China 638 million, Australia 151 million, Russia 122 million and the United States 65 million (IEA Coal 2025, December 2025; 2025 values are estimates). Scrap is the other input: worldsteel says every route uses it, puts the average life of a steel product at about 40 years and says there is not enough scrap to meet demand (year not stated). Turkey (Türkiye) imported 20.9 million tonnes of ferrous scrap (HS 7204) in 2024, 21.0% of world trade by weight (CEPII BACI).

From ore to steel

In the blast furnace, coke made from coking coal reduces the ore to molten, carbon-rich iron called hot metal or pig iron, and a basic oxygen furnace turns that into steel. Worldsteel’s typical charge for a tonne of pig iron is 1.6 tonnes of ore and about 450 kg of coke, and it says the oxygen furnace can take up to about 30% scrap (year not stated). An electric arc furnace melts mainly scrap with electricity, and direct reduced iron (DRI), iron made from ore, can replace some of it; world DRI output was 153.0 million tonnes in 2025 (worldsteel, World Steel in Figures 2026).

Source: worldsteel, World Steel in Figures 2026. The world row also holds 0.3% made by other processes.

Continuous casting took 97.4% of 2025 crude steel, 1,801.2 million tonnes, and the rolled product leaves the mill as coil, plate, sections or bars (worldsteel). ArcelorMittal, which runs both routes, consumed 69.3 million tonnes of iron ore in 2025 and took 49.9 million (72%) from its own mines (Form 20-F for 2025).

Moving it

In 2024 the world exported 1,699.6 million tonnes of iron ore, worth $159.7 billion (CEPII BACI, HS 2601, which covers ores, concentrates, pellets and sinter). Australia shipped 893.0 million tonnes (54.8% of value) and Brazil 401.4 million (19.6%), while China took 1,246.1 million tonnes, 73.3% by weight. Australia to China alone was $72.6 billion, 45.5% of world iron ore trade value, and Brazil to China was $19.9 billion, 12.5%. BACI values exports free on board; see FOB, CIF and Incoterms.

Pilbara Ports, the Western Australian port authority, handled 804.1 million tonnes in the 2025-26 financial year, including 759.4 million tonnes of iron ore exports, up 4%. Port Hedland handled 580.4 million tonnes, Dampier 178.3 million and Ashburton 45.2 million; across all its ports Pilbara Ports recorded 9,499 vessel visits (Pilbara Ports, 28 July 2026, as reprinted by Hellenic Shipping News). The Singapore Exchange clears forward freight contracts on two Capesize routes, Western Australia to Qingdao (160,000 tonne cargo) and Tubarão, Brazil, to Qingdao, settled on Baltic assessments (SGX clearing rules, December 2024). In September 2026 the World Bank’s price for 62% iron fines delivered to China, on a cost and freight basis, was $97.7 per dry metric tonne, 5.4% below September 2025 (World Bank Pink Sheet; its data sheet labels the unit $/dmtu, but its own description defines the spot price as dollars per dry ton; iron ore prices).

World coal exports (HS 2701) were 1,421.4 million tonnes in 2024, led by Australia to Japan at $17.4 billion, 9.7% of value (BACI). For metallurgical coal, which the IEA defines to include coking coal, semi-soft coal and coal injected into blast furnaces, the IEA estimated 2025 exports at 357 million tonnes: Australia 149 million, Mongolia 56 million, Russia 50 million, the United States 46 million and Canada 30 million (IEA Coal 2025; estimates).

In 2025 the world exported 456.5 million tonnes of finished and semi-finished steel products, 26.4% of the 1,731.2 million tonnes of finished steel produced, counting intra-EU trade (worldsteel). In HS 7208, 2024 trade was 100.2 million tonnes: China exported 32.8 million (28.1% of value), and Vietnam was the largest importer, with 9.3% of value and 12.1 million tonnes (BACI); HS 7208 is a single line and is not comparable with worldsteel’s 456.5 million tonnes of product exports.

Rolling, stamping and getting it to the car

Among 2025 world steel product exports, hot-rolled sheets and coils were 78.0 million tonnes, galvanized sheet 45.8 million, cold-rolled sheets and coils 31.4 million and other coated sheet 24.1 million (worldsteel, World Steel in Figures 2026). Worldsteel counts more than 3,500 steel grades and says modern cars use steels up to 35% lighter than in the past (year not stated).

Automotive took 12% of the 1,718.2 million tonnes of steel used worldwide in 2025, about 206 million tonnes (this site’s arithmetic on a rounded share), against 52% for building and infrastructure and 16% for mechanical equipment (worldsteel). Worldsteel says car sheet has the tightest limits on trace metals such as copper and tin, and that ore-based iron such as DRI is needed to dilute them when scrap is the feed (year not stated). Worldsteel does not give a steel weight per vehicle in the sources used here.

Where the chain is thin

Who negotiates China’s iron ore contracts?

China took 70.5% of 2024 iron ore import value (BACI). On 6 August 2026 Reuters reported, citing two sources, that China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG), a state buyer, told some mills to halt talks with Rio Tinto for shipments from September, and cited Wood Mackenzie’s estimate that CMRG negotiates for more than half of China’s annual import volumes. Reuters added that restrictions on BHP lifted after an April 2026 visit by its incoming chief executive. On 9 September 2026 Bloomberg reported, via GMK Center, that CMRG had advised steelworks to hold off buying Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Blend ore while contract talks reached what it called a critical stage. Rio Tinto said on 15 July 2026 that full rail commissioning at its Simandou project in Guinea was achieved in the first quarter of 2026.

Which steel trade measures took effect in 2025 and 2026?

The United States raised its steel tariff to 50% in June 2025, with a lower rate for the United Kingdom (USGS 2026). From 6 April 2026 it applies to the full customs value of steel articles at 50%, with 25% for listed derivative products and for UK products whose steel was melted and poured in the UK, and lower rates for some derivative articles (Proclamation 11021, 2 April 2026). A proclamation of 1 June 2026 (11032, effective 8 June) changed product lists and some derivative rates but left the 50% rate on steel articles unchanged. The European Union replaced its safeguard on 1 July 2026 with Regulation (EU) 2026/1384, cutting duty-free quotas about 47% from the 2024 reference system to 18.3 million tonnes a year and setting a 50% out-of-quota duty (European Commission, Access2Markets, 30 June 2026). From 1 January 2026 China requires export licenses for steel products under about 300 customs codes; the commerce ministry said the system does not limit export volumes, and Global Times described it as the first such step in 16 years (Global Times, 18 December 2025).

What is the EU carbon border price for steel imports?

The EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) entered its definitive regime on 1 January 2026, covering iron and steel, and importers of more than 50 tonnes of covered goods must become authorized declarants who buy certificates priced from EU emissions-trading auctions. The Q3 2026 price, published 5 October 2026, was €82.32 a tonne of carbon dioxide, against €75.28 for the second quarter and €75.36 for the first (European Commission). Worldsteel’s 2024 sustainability data, from companies producing 51% of 2024 world crude steel, show 1.92 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel (World Steel in Figures 2026); a CBAM bill depends on each shipment’s verified emissions.

How much depends on one port?

Port Hedland handled 72% of Pilbara Ports’ 2025-26 throughput (this site’s arithmetic on 580.4 of 804.1 million tonnes). In the quarter to 30 September 2025, BHP’s Western Australia iron ore operations reported a 4.3 million wet tonne impact (100% basis) tied to the rebuild of one port car dumper (BHP operational review, 16 July 2026).

Follow the data

The steel, iron ore and coal pages hold the production and trade tables, the iron ore and coal price pages chart the World Bank series, and the trade flows report maps the Australia-China corridor. The producing, exporting and processing guide explains why rankings differ, and the glossary defines tariff and quota. See also aluminum.

Metallurgical coal, scrap, port and process figures come from agencies, companies and trade bodies, not this site’s pipeline. Nothing here is investment advice.

Prices are monthly benchmark averages that lag the market; informational only, not investment advice.