China state buyer agrees annual iron ore deal with Rio Tinto

China Mineral Resources Group has struck a new annual iron ore supply agreement with Rio Tinto and told Chinese steel mills to submit their required volumes from Thursday, Reuters reported.

Why it matters: The deal ends the standoff that began in August, when the state buyer told mills to pause separate talks with Rio Tinto, and it puts a single state negotiator between the world's largest iron ore miner and its biggest market.

Data as of Reuters reporting carried by Mining Weekly and summarised by Finimize on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, read in full. Single wire source and total contract volume not disclosed, so this item is single-sourced. Developing item.

China Mineral Resources Group, the state buyer Beijing created in 2022 to centralise iron ore purchasing, has agreed a new annual supply contract with Rio Tinto and verbally notified some steel mills of the deal on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The group plans to start collecting each mill’s required volumes on Thursday, steering orders through one negotiating book rather than dozens of mill-by-mill talks.

The agreement follows the pressure campaign Reuters reported in early August, when the state buyer directed some mills to halt their own negotiations with Rio Tinto over shipments from September while annual contract talks were under way. Contract terms, including total volume, were not disclosed, and mills have been squeezed by weak domestic steel demand and thin margins.

China state buyer agrees annual iron ore deal with Rio Tinto

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