Australia's iron ore industry faces threat of parliamentary inquiry

Sydney

THE huge iron ore industry in Australia faces the threat of a parliamentary inquiry amid claims the world's biggest miners, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, are flooding the market to wipe out smaller competitors.

The steel-making commodity is the nation's largest export with Australia accounting for 60 per cent of the world's sea-borne supply, and the slumping price has hit government revenues hard.