Swedish-based iron ore producer LKAB has announced that in 2012 it shipped a record level of 26.3 million mt of iron ore, 300,000 mt above the previous annual record registered in 2010, including 22 million mt of pellets in 2012, beating the previous record level in 2011 by one million mt.

According to LKAB, the growth in shipments was driven by demand from Middle Eastern and Asian customers which increased in the second half of 2012. Meanwhile, demand from Europe doubled.

LKAB, which accounts for 90 percent of iron ore production in the EU, plans to increase its capacity by 35 percent by 2015 by opening three new open-pit mines in Svappavaara, Kiruna in Sweden.