Analysis China’s plan to diversify iron ore supply could see Australia’s mining-dependent economy take a toll or force the nation to sell its abundant supply elsewhere. The move comes amid a campaign of economic coercion by Beijing which has imposed trade sanctions on Australian coal, wine, barley, beef, lobster, timber, cotton, and potentially grapes. Despite this, ABS data has shown that in 2019-20, Australia’s entire goods trade saw $380 billion (US$300 billion) worth of exports, with a substantial $84 billion, or 22 percent, solely in iron ore shipped to China. Further analysis by Deloitte Access Economics revealed that the mining industry paid $39.9 billion in company tax and royalties in 2019-20, with a total of $238.8 billion paid in the 10 years leading up to 2019-20. On the China front, according to banking group UBS, 61 percent of its iron ore imports was sourced from Australia in 2020. Though metalliferous …