Iron ore boom relies on death of the planet

Monday 18 August 2025

I have some good news and bad news for you, if you’re an Aussie.

First, the good news. Your biggest export, iron ore, is managing to hold up despite a crash in Chinese property of cosmic proportions.

The bad news? It is killing the planet at record speed.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.