<P> This move follows a switch to index - based quarterly pricing by the world's three largest iron ore miners - Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP - in early 2010, breaking a 40 - year tradition of benchmark annual pricing . </P> <P> The iron ore reserves at present seem quite vast, but some are starting to suggest that the math of continual exponential increase in consumption can even make this resource seem quite finite . For instance, Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute has suggested iron ore could run out within 64 years based on an extremely conservative extrapolation of 2% growth per year . </P> <P> Geoscience Australia calculates that the country's "economic demonstrated resources" of iron currently amount to 24 gigatonnes, or 24 billion tonnes . The current production rate from the Pilbara region of Western Australia is approximately 430 million tonnes a year and rising . Gavin Mudd (Monash University) and Jonathon Law (CSIRO) expect it to be gone within 30 to 50 years (Mudd) and 56 years (Law). These estimates require on - going review to take into account shifting demand for lower grade iron ore and improving mining and recovery techniques (allowing deeper mining below the groundwater table). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Iron ore can be found in which state