China is on a mission to break its dependence on Australia at all costs, but a new report has revealed the superpower is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. One of the key ingredients it needs to fuel its ambitious growth plans to become the world’s most powerful and influential nation is iron ore, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel.
Australia is the biggest exporter of the red stuff which is mined largely in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and pumps an astronomical amount of money into the nation’s economy.
China is also the biggest consumer of iron ore — consuming a massive 61 per cent of the world’s exports — which it uses to make things like refrigerators and construction products. Amid trade tensions and China’s plans to diversify its supply away from Australia, Beijing is determined to wean itself off our natural resources – but it has not been easy.
Because of the abundance and quality of iron ore in places like the Pilbara and problems hitting operations from other parts of the world like Brazil, China has continued to buy mountains of it from Australia.
For the rest of this article: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/mining/sad-cost-of-chinas-plan-to-ditch-australia/news-story/aa0e3ffd97d726459d120f2c43761bf0