The world's biggest iron ore miner has flagged plans to grow production by 18 per cent over the next six months, continuing a year of strong supply and market share growth at the big end of the sector.

Brazilian miner Vale's vow to build on its record output over the past six months came as Rio Tinto vowed to achieve the higher end of its target range for iron ore exports in 2018, and as BHP prepares to report on Wednesday what many believe will be its strongest-ever quarterly iron ore export statistics.