Govt 'monstered' by miners: Xenophon

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has accused the mining lobby of censoring parliament after the government ruled out a parliamentary inquiry into iron ore prices.

The government has been "monstered" by the mining sector into backing down on the inquiry, Mr Xenophon told ABC radio on Friday.

"Who runs this country? What sort of democracy do we live in when you can have mining companies basically censoring the parliament?" he said.