Last century, Americans company were coming in Canada, pumping iron and buying mining companies for cheap. With the same iron, they shipped it back into the US, made steel with it and sold it back to us at like 5x times the original price. I know "capitalist/freedom/etc", but this type of business doesn't create any plus-value.
That's a rather ignorant statement on your part. No added value? Try building something out of iron ore. As it comes out of the ground, it's rather useless. Refining ore into steel is an energy-intensive process. Try telling me with a straight face that there's no value in that.
Well you are ignoring the fact that phase products arent calcualted into GDP. You cant calculate iron ore 2x 3x 4x or even more. You can opnly calcualte it 1 time and you will chose when. So a company that buying iron ore and making ingots is contributing to GDP more then a miner mining that iron ore. You cant add value of iron ore and iron ingots. When you use that iron to make cars, bridges, building then its a new process thus it is calculated gain, Its not cumulative number...