Interesting article from Jan on the changing face of the iron...

Interesting article from Jan on the changing face of the iron ore industry with some discussion around pellets, Brazil and Vale. This article says the dam failure at Vale's Corrego do Feijao mine is seen as adding limited upward pricing pressure on high-grade iron ore.

Samarco (the previous tailings dam collapse in 2015 with BHP) is the wild card on pellet prices but its reopening has been the subject for speculation for a long time. The last report I could find (see link at the bottom of this post) said that Vale planned to reopen Samarco in 2020, so some potential for more pellets to come onto to the market then.

What iron ore investors need to understand is that iron ore isn't one market anymore, it is a multi-tier market "that includes specialty products that may be tailor-made for specific steel mills, with premiums, penalties and spreads between product values quite the order of the day."

China’s quest for cleaner skies drives change in iron ore market

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.co...eaner-skies-drives-change-in-iron-ore-market/

"2. More investment in pellet feed production to make pellets, a concentrated high iron content product. Vale sees demand for pellets growing from an estimated 514 million mt worldwide at present to 602 million mt in 2025. Demand for iron ore pellets this year outstripped supply, exacerbated by Brazilian Samarco’s absence from the market since late 2015. This led pellet premiums to inflate and producers including Vale to propose pricing pellet premiums off the 65% Fe rather than the traditional 62% Fe index. WoodMac reports more than 35 million mt of pellet capacity is proposed to be commissioned within the next 7 years in China, mostly using domestic pellet feed. The closure of Vale’s Corrego do Feijao mine in Brazil following the January 25 tailings dam collapse is seen as adding limited upwards pricing pressure on high-grade iron ore."

https://www.marketscreener.com/VALE...ning-in-2020-After-2015-Dam-Tragedy-27486287/