Recycling

How can China consume half the world's iron ore production? Tim Worstall:

"The highest percentage of any metal resource that China consumes is iron ore, at a barely comprehensible 47% of world consumption."

...Note that the second largest US steel company on our list, Nucor... only make[s] new steel from old. Further, everyone does this to some extent, but in the western/industrialised world we’ve got to the point that no one, ever again, is going to build another blast furnace (yes, this is the generally accepted industry view).

...I’m pointing just at that 47% of world consumption number: this is an artefact of the way that the western (OK, industrialised) world is recycling steel rather than making new.