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China will up the amount of iron ore it acquires from the global seaborne iron ore market in the coming months as investment in infrastructure, particularly railways picks up speed.

Currently, China consumes more than 60% of total global iron ore.

Annual consumption of iron ore by China is tipped to be a massive 1 billion tonnes as higher steel production, fuelled a record 74.58 million tonnes of the ore in September, up 8% from August and an increase of 15% from a year earlier.

Investment will remain a major driver of China's economy as a result of the government's mini-stimulus, and experts forecast that capital-driven growth will continue to accelerate for the rest of the year as the economic outlook brightens.

As of the end of September, fixed-asset investment was up 20.2% year-on-year to 30.9 trillion yuan ($5.07 trillion) the Bureau of Statistics said.

Interestingly, private investors ploughed 19.6 trillion yuan into fixed-asset investment, almost twice as much as State-owned investors.

Investments in the less-developed central and western provinces grew at a faster pace than those in the eastern coastal provinces.

Australian iron ore companies to benefit

Australian iron ore miners and explorers stand to be beneficiaries including: BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG), Atlas Iron (ASX:AGO) and new producer Shree Minerals (ASX:SHH).