The world's first iron ore futures with physical delivery debuted on Friday on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, a move seen by industry insiders as a way to gain more control of pricing of the world's second-most traded commodity.

The first yuan-denominated iron ore futures contract is also China's latest attempt to chip away at the pricing power of global mining giants such as BHP Billiton Ltd, Vale SA and Rio Tinto Group.

China is the world's top importer of the raw material for steel, and the contract provides a hedging tool for the nation's steel mills and traders, experts said.