Confusion after report claims China ‘bans’ BHP iron ore amid pricing dispute
Australia’s biggest mining company has been rocked by a bombshell report claiming China has banned its iron ore shipments amid a pricing dispute.
Australia’s biggest mining company has been rocked by a bombshell report claiming China has banned its iron ore shipments amid a pricing dispute.
Bloomberg reported overnight that China’s state-run iron ore buyer, China Mineral Resources Group Co., had told major steelmakers and traders to temporarily halt purchases of all new dollar-denominated BHP cargoes.
The directive, which would represent a major escalation in an ongoing pricing dispute between the world’s largest miner and its most important buyer, reportedly came after several unsuccessful meetings between the two sides last week.
According to the report, it means new deals can’t be signed, including for cargoes that have already left Australia, with the only BHP iron ore available for trade being some supplies that have landed in China and are priced in yuan.
However, Chinese commodity market pricing firm Mysteel has since disputed the veracity of the Bloomberg story, which comes just as much of the country shuts down from October 1-8 for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Mysteel has verified through relevant channels and confirmed that this rumour is not true,” read an English translation of a news flash item, per The Australian Financial Review.
“Chinese steel mills have not received any such notice, and the information did not originate from the China Iron and Steel Association.”
A BHP spokeswoman declined to comment on commercial negotiations.
China is by far the largest consumer of iron ore globally, and BHP is one of the three key suppliers to its steelmakers.
It comes weeks after Bloomberg reported that CMRG had ordered steel mills to halt purchases of BHP’s Jimblebar blend fines.
Market watchers say the reported ban would be consistent with recent efforts by China to gain greater leverage over BHP, Rio Tinto Group and Vale SA as its domestic demand for steel cools and a massive new wave of supply looms from the Simandou mine in Guinea.
“They are firing a shot across the bows,” Tomas Gutierrez from London-based resources analyst Kallanish Commodities told The Australian Financial Review. “They may be feeling a bit more empowered with Simandou coming on stream.”
Simandou, long dubbed the “Pilbara killer”, is due to begin its first exports within months, and could potentially add as much as 120 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore to the market once fully ramped up.
In August, the $200 billion ASX-listed firm reported a sharp slump in profits and revenues for the 2025 financial year, crediting a decline in iron ore and coal prices for the tumble.
BHP reported underlying profits of $US10.2 billion ($15.7 billion), a 26 per cent fall on the prior year.
Revenues came in at $US51.3 billion ($79 billion), an 8 per cent fall on 2024.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, meanwhile, tumbled 10 per cent to $US26 billion ($40 billion).
The “underlying” measure strips out one-off costs and gains and is designed to present a clearer picture of a company’s performance.
Statutory profit, which includes one-off items, lifted 14 per cent from 2024 to $US9 billion ($13.8 billion).
The company mines predominantly iron ore, coal and copper across Australia and Chile.
Coal and iron ore are core inputs to steelmaking and prices are heavily dependent on Chinese demand for steel.
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BHP’s average realised price for its Pilbara iron ore, or how much the company received for each tonne of material, was $US82.13 across the year compared with $US101.04 for 2024.
Iron ore accounts for the majority of the miner’s earnings.
— with NewsWire
