The iron ore e-auction conducted by the Industrial Corporation of Odisha (IDCOL) on 1 Feb’22 for 19,000 tonnes (t) of calibrated lump ore (CLO) from the company’s Roida ‘C’ mine in Odisha not only received active participation but also witnessed a sharp uptick in prices.
Bid prices for lump ore (5-18mm, Fe 62-65%) rose by INR 2,100-2,700/t against the floor price of INR 7,500/t to INR 9,600-10,200/t.
On the other hand, bids for iron ore lump (Fe 60-62%) jumped to INR 9,300/t, with the base price at INR 7,000/t – a rise of INR 2,300/t.
Interestingly, prices have risen significantly since the last OMC auction for similar grade lump ore held on 15 Jan. Bid prices for 5-18 mm lumps stood at INR 9,500/t from the Jilling-Langalota mine and INR 8,150/t from the Guali mine.
Demand for high-grade ore
SteelMint’s Odisha iron ore lump (5-18mm, Fe 63%) index stood at INR 9,000/t on 29 Jan. It was assessed that offers had risen in Odisha owing to limited high-grade material availability from the merchant miners that have exhausted their EC limits.
Following the rise in prices in Odisha, NMDC too raised prices for iron ore lump (Fe 67%, 10-40mm) by INR 350/t for Feb sales.
In addition, Indian pellet prices are rallying on higher exports amid rise in global iron ore prices. SteelMint’s domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 12,200/t DAP Raipur on 1 Feb. Recovery in export sentiments and rising coal and sponge iron prices have pushed pellet offers higher. The index has climbed from around INR 10,000/t levels in Dec.
Constraints in merchant supply of high-grade ore in the backdrop of rising steel prices could keep iron ore prices firm in the short term, SteelMint notes.
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