China BHP iron ore ban: China flexes its muscles as new era dawns

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China is flexing its muscles as a new era dawns for iron ore

Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist October 1, 2025 — 12.00pm Advertisement

China’s long-running attempts to wrest pricing power back from the major iron ore miners appear to be intensifying, with reports that in the midst of price negotiations, China’s state-owned iron ore trader has told steel mills to temporarily stop buying BHP’s ore .

While the reports haven’t been confirmed – BHP doesn’t comment on its commercial negotiations and there’s been no official statement out of China – they would be consistent with the country’s attempts to counter the concentrated market power of the major iron ore miners, particularly the Australian heavyweights who account for ab