India’s iron ore production in Apr’21 stood at 21.46 mn t – down 8% from over 23 mn t recorded in Mar’21, as per SteelMint data. In general, this could be attributed to higher production from miners in Mar’21 ahead of financial year-end. India’s Jan-Apr’21 iron ore production is recorded at 87.6 mn t, with Odisha output crossing 50 mn t.
Odisha output at a record high
Apr’21 output from India’s leading iron ore producing state Odisha touched a 14-month high of 13.47 mn t vis-a-vis 12.49 mn t in the previous month. The previous highest was over 15 mn t recorded in Feb’20 ahead of expiry of mining leases on 31 Mar’20.
Odisha’s leading merchant miner Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) clocked total iron ore production at over 1.8 mn t in Apr’21 – almost 48% higher than 1.25 mn t in the year-ago month, SteelMint data shows. Fresh volumes from Guali and Jilling-Langalota mines and increased production from the Kurmitar mines in Odisha’s Koira circle boosted overall output. Merchant producer Serajuddin & Co., too, ramped up volumes by over 57% to 1 mn t in Apr’21.
Second Covid wave hits NMDC production
However, the decrease in the country’s iron ore production in Apr’21 was due, in part, to over 41% fall in volumes from Chhattisgarh: from over 5 mn t in Mar’21 to just about 3 mn t in April. This was because PSU mining major NMDC’s production fell to 3.13 mn t in Apr’21 from 4.57 mn t in the preceding month – a drop of over 30%. Out of 4.57 mn t in Mar’21, NMDC’s Bailadila mines in Chhattisgarh had contributed around 3.98 mn t. Prevailing lockdown restrictions in the state impacted mining operations, with the number of shifts in a day being curtailed to two instead of the usual three at NMDC’s mines.
The other reason Apr’21 production slipped m-o-m was that total output from Jharkhand dropped to 1.26 mn t compared to 2.2 mn t in Mar’21 due to the expiry of some iron ore leases in the state. While the state government initially wanted to reserve the leases for a state PSU the Union Ministry of Mines has directed the state to auction them instead.
The other leading iron ore producing state Karnataka, however, maintained output at 3.24 mn t in Apr’21 – largely stable m-o-m.
Outlook
India’s Jan-Apr’21 iron ore production at 87.6 mn t is about 10 mn t higher than the corresponding period last year, as Apr’20 production, in particular, dropped to 9.7 mn t with the outbreak of COVID-19 in end-Mar’20 and the imposition of lockdown throughout the country. Going forward, with the onset of monsoon production is anticipated to take a hit in the Jun-Sept’21 period.
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