India: Karnataka’s iron ore e-auction sales rise over 10% m-o-m in Feb’25

• NMDC’s auction sales drops 17% m-o-m in Feb
• Market still faces uncertainty amid MRT bill

Iron ore e-auction sales volumes in Karnataka increased by around 12% to 1.31 million tonnes (mnt) in February 2025 against 1.17 mnt in January 2025, data maintained with BigMint show. Of the total volume sold in the month under review, fines accounted for 536,000 tonnes (t) (down 21% m-o-m), while lumps constituted 777,400 t (up 48% m-o-m).

The increase in volumes could be attributed to a rise in some miners’ offered quantities and decent procurement by buyers. Additionally, regional demand-supply dynamics contributed to increased activity in the e-auctions, sources informed BigMint.

Miner-wise breakup – NMDC continues to lead

• National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India’s largest iron ore miner, sold around 764,000 t from Karnataka via auctions in February, a decrease of 17% against 924,000 t in January. Of the total volume sold, 452,000 t were fines (down 24% m-o-m) and 312,000 t were lumps (down 6% m-o-m). However, the miner continued to maintain its status as the top auctioneer last month as well.
• Sandur Manganese and Iron Ores (SMIORE) reported sales of 266,000 t of lumps and 32,000 t of fines, bringing its total sales volume to 298,000 t in February, a sharp hike of around 239% m-o-m from 88,000 t (only lumps) sold in January. The increase was mainly driven by the miner’s decision to offer fines and a higher volume of lumps in the merchant market.
• Karnataka State Minerals Corporation Limited (KSMCL) emerged as the third-leading miner, selling around 52,000 t of fines (up 8% m-o-m) and 84,000 t of lumps (up 133% m-o-m). This took its total sales volume via e-auctions to 136,000 t in February, up sharply by 62% compared to 84,000 t in January.
• Vedanta sold 72,000 t of iron ore lumps in February, a 20% increase as compared to January.
• Sri Kumaraswamy Mineral Exports Private Limited (SKMEPL) sold about 28,000 t of lumps through auctions. Consequently, the company shifted its focus to selling larger volumes through direct sales rather than e-auctions.
• R Praveen Chandra managed to sell only 15,400 t of lumps in February 2025. Notably, the miner decided not to offer iron ore fines through the e-auction platform and instead chose to put them up for direct sales in the month under review.

E-auction prices show mixed trends m-o-m amid NMDC price cut, falling offers

The monthly weighted average e-auction prices of iron ore fines (Fe 60%) stood unchanged m-o-m at INR 3,400/t ($40/t). However, tags of lumps (10-40 mm, Fe 63%) dropped marginally by INR 50/t ($1/t) to INR 4,500/t ($52/t) m-o-m. Prices are on ex-mines basis, excluding royalty, DMF, and NMET. NMDC’s price cut and declining offers kept prices under pressure at auctions.

Outlook

The proposed mineral rights tax (MRT) is expected to affect Karnataka’s mining and steel industries. According to industry sources, demand for steelmaking raw materials in the region is likely to remain subdued. Stakeholders are concerned that the bill could increase mining costs and may undermine the sector’s overall competitiveness.