China’s Jan-Feb’26 raw iron ore output rises 1% y-o-y

• Supply recovery fails to boost concentrate output
• Weak demand pressures domestic iron ore pricing

Mysteel Global: China produced a total of 161.6 million tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) iron ore during January-February this year, representing a 1.3% increase compared with the same period in 2025, according to latest data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NBS usually consolidates its data for January and February due to the disruption in regular data collection and releases caused by the Chinese New Year holiday, which typically falls in either of the two months, Mysteel Global notes.
The increase in ROM iron ore production during the first two months, albeit small, is in stark contrast to the marked 12.6% on-year decline recorded during the same period last year.Earlier last year, ore mines in North China’s Hebei province, the country’s top iron ore production hub, faced strict inspections related to environmental protection that had caused their production to slump, Mysteel Global learns.

This year, ROM iron ore output in the Hebei province has shown some recovery, with the volume rising by 1.4% on year to reach 75.1 million tonnes during the past two months, the NBS data show. Meanwhile, output in Northeast China’s Liaoning, the second largest iron ore producing province, also increased 4.8% on year to 29.5 million tonnes during the same period.

Despite growing ROM iron ore supply, China’s output of domestic iron ore concentrates saw little improvement this year. Mysteel’s survey of iron ore concs production among the 332 domestic mining companies it regularly monitors showed that their total output during January-February was largely stable on year at 40.6 million tonnes.

As for domestic iron ore concentrate prices, they have weakened so far this year. The offering price of 66% Fe grade concentrates in Hebei’s Tangshan city was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 969/dmt ($140.3/dmt) EXW and including the 13% VAT on March 20, lower by Yuan 13/dmt compared with the beginning of this year.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.