As negotiations between Chinese steel mills and Australian iron ore producers become increasingly fractious, China claims to have uncovered a giant iron ore deposit that may reduce its reliance on imports.
China News Agency reported a deposit with reserves of more than 3 billion tonnes of iron ore, the biggest in Asia, had been found in the country's northeastern province of Liaoning.
Crucially, the Dataigou deposit, located near Benxi city, could reduce China's dependence on imports from Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale. China, the world's biggest buyer of iron ore, has rejected a 33 per cent price cut in contract iron ore prices offered by Rio this year and called for prices to drop by as much as 45 per cent.
