SteelMint’s weekly Odisha iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index has moved down by INR 350/t to INR 6,400/t (ex-mines, including royalty, DMF and NMET). Though Odisha miners kept offers firm this week, market participants are expecting prices to fall amid declining pellet offers and lower bids from buyers.
Odisha market highlights:
- The Orissa Minerals Development Company Ltd. (OMDC) has issued a tender for sale of 62,450 t of screened and crushed iron ore fines and lumps (Fe 58%-65%) from its Bhadrasahi iron and manganese mines in Keonjhar district of the state. The due date of the tender is 14 Sept’21.
- ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India has commenced operations at the Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi (Sagasahi) iron ore block in Odisha. The mine has an EC limit of 7.16 mn t/year and 99.59 mn t of iron ore reserves spread over an area of 139.165 hectares in Sundergarh district.
- Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) conducted an auction on 10 Sept for 100,000 t of iron ore dump fines from the Bolani iron ore mines in Odisha at INR 3,280-3,310/t (ex-mines, including royalty, DMF, NMET and additional premium as per MMDR Amendment Act, 2021), according to market sources. The material put to auction was of Fe 60% grade (indicative). However, sales at the auction has not been considered for price calculation.
Recent trade and rationale:
- No deal was recorded this week and, therefore, not considered T1 trade, with 0% weightage in the index calculation for Fe 62% fines.
- SteelMint received twelve (12) offers, indicative prices under T2 trade in this publishing window and eight (08) were taken into consideration and given 100% weightage. To check out SteelMint’s iron ore assessments, pricing methodology and specification documents Click here
SteelMint’s iron ore lump (5-18mm, Fe 63%) index fell to INR 10,800/t (ex-mines, including royalty, DMF and NMET) – lower by INR 250/t on a weekly basis. No deals were recorded for lumps at this price.
A market participant said: “Buyers are gradually shifting towards pellets as pellet prices are more reasonable than iron ore lumps.”
Notably, the price of Fe 63% pellet in Barbil stands at INR 10,800-11,000/t (loaded on to wagons) and bids range at around INR 10,500/t.
Chhattisgarh govt floats sale tender for 15,832 t iron ore lumps: The Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. (CMDC) has issued a tender for sale of around 15,832 t of iron ore lumps (10-150mm, Fe +65%) on 29 Sept’21 from its Aridongri mines in Kanker district of the state. The floor price has been fixed at INR 9,611/t and the delivery period will be 60 days from the date of contract. Only end-users are allowed to take part in the e-auction.
Blow to Goa’s old lessees as SC dismisses Vedanta’s SLP: The Supreme Court on 7 Sept’21 refused to entertain a writ petition and SLP filed by Goan miners seeking to revive their mining leases. The apex court dismissed the plea seeking an appeal against a High Court order that dismissed Vedanta’s prayer to be considered valid until 2037. Another petitioner, Geetabala Parulekar, withdrew its petition.
Karnataka govt floats auction notice for five iron ore blocks – The Karnataka government has put five iron-bearing mines for e-auction, as per latest reports. Four mines have deposits of iron ore while one has both iron and manganese ore. The Supreme Court had previously cancelled certain ‘C’ category mines in the state on account of illegal mining and had directed the state government to auction the mines for end users.
NMDC lowers base prices for Karnataka auction – India’s leading merchant miner NMDC has decreased iron ore base prices for its auction from the Donimalai mines, SteelMint learnt from sources. Prices have fallen by around INR 1,000/t for iron ore fines and lumps. The floor price for fines (Fe 65%) stands at INR 4,667/t, while that for iron ore lump (Fe 65%) is at INR 5,844/t (basic, excluding taxes).
NMDC conducted two iron ore e-auctions from its Donimalai iron ore mine in Karnataka on 7 Sept.
- In the first auction, 48,000 t of material was booked out of the total quantity of 100,000 t on offer. RINL was the largest buyer at 32,000 t followed by A One Steel and Alloys Private Ltd at 12,000 t each.
- In the other auction, 360,000 t of material received bids out of 500,000 t put to auction. JSW Steel remained the largest buyer at 212,000 t followed by BMM Ispat at 80,000 t.
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