Proposal to amend iron ore 62.5% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium name, specifications: pricing notice

Fastmarkets proposes to amend the name and base specifications of its index for MB-IRO-0010 iron ore 62.5% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao to more closely align with the specifications of Australia iron ore lump.

Following an initial consultation with the market, and a review of typical data sets that are collected over the recent months, the amendment also aims to ensure the index remains representative of the Australian-origin iron ore lumps in the CFR China spot market within the index specification range, including Pilbara Blend Lump and Newman Lump. 

The new specification would be as follows, with amendments in italics:

MB-IRO-0010 Iron ore 62% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao, US cents/dmtu
Quality: Fe content base 62%, range 61-65%; silica base 3.5%, max 5%; alumina base 1.5%, max 2%; phosphorus base 0.08%, max 0.10%; sulfur base 0.02%, max 0.04%; moisture base 4%, max 6.5%; granularity max 13.5%<6.3mm, max 25% >31.5mm
Quantity: Min 30,000 tonnes
Location: cfr Qingdao, normalized for any Chinese mainland seaport
Timing: Within 2-8 weeks
Unit: US cents/dmtu
Payment terms: Letters of Credit on sight, other terms normalized to base
Publication: Daily at 6:30pm Singapore time
Notes: Origin Australia only. Data history from May 2013.

This price is part of the Fastmarkets steelmaking raw materials package.

The consultation period for this proposed amendment starts from April 29 and will end on May 28. The amendment will then take place, subject to market feedback, on June 2.

To provide feedback on the proposal or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the index, please contact Alice Li by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Alice Li, re: Iron ore 62.5% Fe Australia-origin lump ore premium, cfr Qingdao”.

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

What to read next
To increase transparency, Fastmarkets has further clarified how it handles price movements during periods of low liquidity. Factors that Fastmarkets may consider during times of low liquidity include, but are not limited to: market fundamentals such as changes in inventory levels, shipments, operating rates and export volumes; relative fundamentals of similar commodities in the same […]
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for PIX Packaging GCC indices via an open consultation process between April 16 and May 14, 2025. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process. Full details of the prices covered by this consultation can be found here. No feedback […]
Fastmarkets is inviting feedback from the industry on the pricing methodology for the PIX Forest Biomass Finland price indices, as part of its announced annual methodology review process. This consultation, which is open until June 12, 2025, seeks to ensure that our methodologies continue to reflect the physical market under indexation, in compliance with the […]
The publication of the following price was delayed for 10 minutes: MB-ALU-0002 Alumina index, fob Australia, $/tonne This price is a part of the Fastmarkets Base Metals package. For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter […]
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of Taiwan base metals prices from biweekly to monthly, and the delivery timing for the tin 99.99% ingot premium from two weeks to four weeks.
The prices in question are: MB-STE-0100 Steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), export, fob main port UK, $ per tonneMB-STE-0099 Steel scrap shredded, export, fob main port UK, $ per tonneMB-STE-0095 Steel scrap shredded, import, cfr delivered Turkish port, $ per tonneMB-STE-0420 Steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), fob Rotterdam, $ per tonne. Increasing the frequency of assessment of […]