India’s leading iron ore miner, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), produced 2.79 mn t of iron ore in May’21, down by 11% as against 3.13 mn t in Apr’21, SteelMint learned from its BSE filing. Production and dispatches were impacted in May’21 with the company’s mines in Chhattisgarh operating in two shifts instead of the usual three due to lockdown restrictions in the state. Hence, its production from Chhattisgarh moved down by 17% m-o-m in May’21. However, volumes from Karnataka increased.
The miner recorded a major chunk of output from its Chhattisgarh mines at 1.82 mn t for May’21 and the remaining 0.97 mn t from the Karnataka mines.
Source: BSE filings, SteelMint Research
Qty in mn t
Iron ore sales up in May’21
NMDC recorded a 7% rise in its total iron ore sales for the month under review to 3.30 mn t as against 3.09 mn t in Apr’21. Total sales from the Chhattisgarh mines stood at 2.33 mn t and the remaining 0.97 mn t were from the Karnataka mines.
NMDC had announced a price hike of 30% in fines and 10% in lumps w.e.f 12 May’21 from its Chhattisgarh mines.
It conducted an auction on 29 May’21, offering 151,200 t of iron ore each from its Bacheli and Kirandul mines in Chhattisgarh. The auction received active participation with nearly 90% of the material on offer getting booked. Bids for DR-CLO moved up by around INR 570/t and that for fines and lumps by up to INR 180/t. Market participants are waiting for the miner’s price announcements for June deliveries.
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