SYDNEY, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L – news) predicted global iron ore demand will grow by 2 percent a year to 3 billion tonnes by 2030, which means new supply of the key steel-making ingredient will be needed.
Half the new supply would be delivered through the seaborne market, Rio Tinto, the world No.2 miner of iron ore, said in documents released on Thursday prior to an analysts’ briefing by its iron ore chief executive Andrew Harding.
It (Other OTC: ITGL – news) stuck to a forecast that China’s steel production would reach around 1 billion tonnes by 2030. Rival BHP Billiton recently cut its forecast for peak Chinese steel production to between 935 million and 985 million tonnes.
(Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin)
