On a global scale, ferro alloys resources are abundant and reserves are large. According to the statistics of the British Bureau of Mines in 1985, the amount of ferro alloy metal resources identified in the world is 812.8 billion tons. In addition, there are larger ferro alloys resources that can be raised to reserves for development and utilization. Next, we will give further details on the reserves, distribution, and production of iron and ferroalloys in the world.
Ferro alloys resources are unevenly distributed, and most ferroalloy metals are concentrated in a few countries
Iron ore is mainly distributed in the former Soviet Union, the United States, Brazil, Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, Sweden, France, Venezuela, Liberia, and other countries, and the reserves of these countries account for 90% of the world’s reserves. The reserves of the former Soviet Union, the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Canada accounted for 75% of the reserves.
In terms of iron and ferroalloy metal ores, there are more than 3 kinds of reserves in the world’s top 10: the former Soviet Union, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, India, China, and the United States eight resource-rich countries. Among them are 10 species in the former Soviet Union, 6 species in Australia, 5 in South Africa, 5 in Canada, 4 in India, 4 in Brazil, 3 in China, and 3 in the United States.
There are some substantial mining areas and super large deposits with ample reserves, high grades, and favorable mining conditions
There are a number of large or extra-large iron ores and ferroalloy metal mines in the world. The super-large iron mines include the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly Area in Russia, with proven reserves of 42.6 billion tons, and the Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin in Ukraine with reserves of 20.1 billion tons, and the Hamersley Iron Ore Area in Australia with reserves of 32 billion tons. There are 100 iron ore deposits in Brazil’s Minas Gerais iron quadrangle with reserves of 22 billion tons. Brazil’s Carajas iron ore area has proven reserves of 17.7 billion tons of rich iron ore alone. In the mining area, the iron ore reserves are 20.6 billion tons.
The super-large manganese deposits of more than 1 billion tons include the Kalahari deposit in the Kuruman region of South Africa, which is a metamorphic deposit, and the Nikopol Da Tokamak deposit along the Dnieper River in Ukraine, which is a sedimentary deposit.
The huge chromite areas mainly include the chromite deposits in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, the chromite deposits in the Great Wall of Zimbabwe, and the chromite deposits in the South Urals of Russia.
There are many comprehensive deposits of high economic value
There are many symbiotic and associated iron ore and ferroalloy metal element mines in the world. The famous vanadium-titanium magnetite deposits are the Kachikanar Gushevogor deposit in the Central Urals of Russia, and the western slope of the South Urals. The Kusa deposit group, the Bushveld deposit in South Africa, the Magpie deposit in Canada, etc.
Many of the world-famous nickel deposits are copper-nickel sulfide deposits, such as the Sudbury copper-nickel sulfide mining area in Canada and the Norilsk copper-nickel sulfide mining area in Russia. In addition to nickel, there are copper, cobalt, gold, silver, and Platinum group elements, such as the larger Moroccan Bouazere, Canada’s Hobart, and the former Soviet Union Tuva’s Howuaksay, are all cobalt-containing polymetallic deposits.