The strategy of all-out expansion portends a bleak future for projects in early stages of development.
These include the $10-billion South Korean steel group Posco-backed Roy Hill mine in Australia and Sundance Resources Ltd's $4-billion Mbalam project in Cameroon and Republic of Congo.
A small army of smaller projects peppering Australia's iron-ore rich Pilbara and mid western iron belts and the Brazilian interior are also at risk.
Some big miners are also rethinking their strategy. Glencore Xstrata is halting production of iron-ore in Australia next month, citing deteriorating market conditions and ending a two-year experiment to gain a toehold in the sector
