If you look at optical satellite imagery over major industrial ports long enough, you’ll likely notice certain stockpiles that stand out due to their distinct, reddish-brown hues.
These easily recognizable piles probably contain iron ore, the primary ingredient for making steel. Stockpiles mark an intermediate stage in the iron ore supply chain—a temporary pause in the journey from mine to smelter.
The size and number of piles fluctuate based on the balance between incoming supply and outgoing shipments, offering insights into market conditions for iron ore—a topic we’ve explored in previous articles.
We’ve also discussed our unique approach to measuring stockpiles using radar imagery, which has the advantage over optical imagery of seeing through cloud cover, or dark of night, and tracking minute topographical changes over a broad area.
Our technique uses radar images captured from multiple viewing angles to create a 3D reconstruction of a given scene. The result is an accurate measurement of the pile’s dimensions (height, width, and length), enabling precise volume calculations.
Below is a 3D visualization of iron ore stockpiles at Caofeidian, a major port in China. This visualization was generated by Ursa Space using raster outputs of the stockpile measurement analytic.
The volume was 6.4 million cubic meters on May 23, 2024, according to our calculations. A week later, the volume rose by 30%.
The fluctuations from week to week indicate the balance between incoming bulk carrier deliveries and outgoing iron ore shipments via rail transport.
An analysis of these changes over time reveals the dynamics of supply and demand, which is the key driver of iron ore prices. This data also provides a window into the steel industry, which in turn reflects the broader economy, particularly sectors like infrastructure and home building.
Ursa Space’s iron ore dataset provides a time series of volumetric measurements at major import and export locations. The dataset includes coverage of China, the world’s largest iron ore importer, along with the top three exporters: Australia, Brazil, and South Africa.
Leveraging radar imagery, our solution provides greater reliability compared to optical imagery, which can become ineffective for extended periods due to adverse weather.
One challenge with SAR data is its complexity, which can make it difficult to integrate into workflows. That’s where Ursa Space excels. Our expertise in SAR data analytics empowers customers to seamlessly access and utilize the unique insights that SAR can deliver.
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