China's Angang Steel Company Ltd. (Ansteel) has signed agreement to import iron ore worth $60 billion from Australian iron ore firm Gindalbie Metals Ltd. the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said Thursday. This deal will be the largest iron ore deal that signed by a Chinese firm and an Australian firm so far, the ABC report said.

According to the agreement, Gindalbie Metals is committed to exporting all its iron ore output from the Karara project in Western Australia's Mid-West region, to the Chinese firm in the next 30 years. The magnetite iron ore project may produce more than 30 million tons annually, the Perth-based company said in a statement.

Currently, the two companies are building a port in Oakajee in Western Australia to transport the iron ore to China. Garrett Dixon, chief executive of Gindalbie Metals, said that if the firm could not find a partner for the Karara project, which started construction last year and expected to go into operation in 2011, would have stopped.

"Without an offtake arrangement and a guarantee of payments in the future for your iron ore, you really can't develop a project," he said.

He added that this is a win-win deal. "We have a really good relationship, so locking this away means Ansteel actually has long-term source of premium iron ore for the life of the project," Dixon said.

Also, Ansteel has been Gindalbie Metals's business partner, as Ansteel holds a 36.28 percent stake in the latter.