Imports of iron-ore by China, the world's biggest buyer, in 2024 are expected to be around 1.17-billion to 1.18-billion metric tons, similar to last year's 1.18-billion tons, a senior official of miner Vale said on Wednesday.

China's iron ore imports remained firm in September, marking the third-highest volumes so far this year, although it fell from the near three-year high in August.

During the period, China imported a total of 669 million tons of iron ore, up 6.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the data.

Raw iron ore output up 5.1% in Hebei Province from January to October.

This volume is only below what was recorded in September 2020, when Brazil exported 37.47 million tonnes for the month.

China raw iron ore output in August down 3.9%.

Output of raw iron ore in China in July 2022 down 3.5% YoY.

China Raw iron ore output up 9.2% in June, 2022.