Odisha’s leading merchant miner Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has clocked total iron ore production at over 1.8 mn t in Apr’21 – almost 48% higher than 1.23 mn t in Apr’20, SteelMint data shows.
Expanding volumes
Fresh volumes from Guali and Jilling mines as well as increased production from the Kurmitar mines in Koira circle contributed to boosting overall output.
Guali and Jilling-Langalota iron ore mines, both in Odisha’s Joda circle, posted a combined output of almost 700,000 t in Apr’21. The mines were given over to OMC after many months of non-operationalisation post the Odisha minerals auctions in 2020.
Increased output from Koira
Production from the Kurmitar mines shot up to 360,000 t in Apr’21 compared to about 263,000 t in the same month last year. This was due to commencement of production by the mine development operator (MDO) – Adani Enterprises – in Apr’21. It is one of OMC’s ‘joint venture projects’ in which the MDO gets to operate the 6 mn t (EC limit) iron ore mine for a period of 25 years or till exhaustion of resources, whichever is earlier. The contract was awarded to Adani Enterprises in 2019.
However, Adani has started operating a segment of the Kurmitar mines which has an annual production limit of 3 mn t, as another MDO is operating the rest 2.7 mn t for OMC. Adani is supposed to take over the entire mine after the termination of contract with the existing MDO. Kurmitar mines recorded production of 2.7 mn t of iron ore in 2020-21.
In addition, production from the Daitari mine shot up 43% to 480,000 t in Apr’21 from 335,000 t in the corresponding period last year. Total production from the mine in FY21 was at 3 mn t, as per SteelMint data.
Outlook
At 13.3 mn t, OMC’s iron ore production witnessed a straight 7% growth vis-a-vis FY’20 production of 12.38 mn t. With a consolidated capacity of 34 mn t, and new mines having already come into production, further surge in output is expected in the coming months.
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