Proven iron ore reserves 69 billion

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China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals, has proven iron ore reserves of 59 billion metric tons, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in a statement.

The iron content of most of the reserves is 30 to 35 percent, and the ore type is mostly magnetite, the ministry said in the statement posted on its Web site yesterday. Most of the reserves are located in the Liaoning and Sichuan provinces, it said.

China also has proven copper reserves of 85 million tons, mainly in the southwest region, lower reaches of the Yangtze Rver and Tibet, the ministry said.

The country has proven bauxite reserves of 2.7 billion tons, mainly in Shanxi, Guangxi, Henan and Guizhou provinces, it said. Bauxite is the raw material to make aluminum.

China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of aluminum and steel, and the biggest consumer of copper.