Economics
Miners Shoveling Furiously Prop Up Aussie GDP as Iron Melts
- Volume of iron ore exports in 2016 almost double 2011 level
- Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill mine latest to join export surge
Earth movers receive iron ore deposits from a surface miner in the Cloudbreak Iron Ore mine pit of Fortescue Metals Group at Cloudbreak in Western Australia, on Monday, Jul. 25, 2011.
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The price of Australia’s top export has been almost slashed in half this year. That makes it all the more surprising economists increasingly see iron ore propping up growth as they assemble their 2016 forecasts.
The reason: Australian producers are making up for the price destruction by doubling down on volume, in the process worsening a global supply glut. There’s even a new entrant to the market -- Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, last week oversaw her company’s first shipment of iron ore to South Korea.