Article: Australia: FACTBOX:BHP-Rio merger to usher in new top five for iron ore.

Byline: sanjayV03

The long talked of tie-up of mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto's Western Australian iron ore assets would propel the duo to the top of the global trade, edging out current number one Brazil's Vale.

Based on 2008 data from Swedish consultancy, Raw Materials Group, Rio controls 18.6 percent of the world's seaborne trade while BHP Billiton's share is 17.1 percent.

The key ingredient in steel-making, iron ore is shipped from mines in top exporters Australia and Brazil to consumers such as China, which takes almost half the globe's production, and numbers two and three -- Japan and South Korea.

China's appetite for ...

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