Iron Ore’s 10-Year Low Not Slowing China Production Push

To understand why iron ore prices have dropped to a 10-year low, look no further than a $10 billion mine being developed by China’s state-owned Citic Ltd. on Australia’s remote northwest coast.

The Sino Iron project, the world’s costliest mine, has been called a “disaster” by critics. It began shipping iron ore in December 2013, about four years later than planned. Now, even with prices at their lowest level in 10 years, Citic is adding four production lines at the project, a plan that could pump millions of tons of ore into an already saturated market.