India: NMDC’s iron ore rake movements decline 12% m-o-m in Jul’25 but rise sharply y-o-y

• Iron ore dispatches to non-state units hold firm
• Heavy downpour affects dispatches 

NMDC’s iron ore rake dispatches witnessed a decline in July 2025 on a m-o-m basis, primarily due to heavy rainfall impacting mining operations across key regions. The adverse weather conditions disrupted production activities, leading to lower availability of material for dispatch. Consequently, rake movement to Chhattisgarh-based units and other state-based steel plants fell during this period.

The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India’s largest iron ore miner, dispatched 422 rakes from its Chhattisgarh mines in July, equivalent to 1.62 million tonnes (mnt) of iron ore. This was a drop of 12.3% compared to 481 rakes (1.85 mnt) in June, as per BigMint data.

These rake movements were within Chhattisgarh and to other state-based units but excluded supply to AM/NS India through the slurry pipeline. Each rake carries around 3,850 t of iron ore.

However, on a y-o-y comparison, July 2025 marked a significant improvement in dispatch volumes with 43.5% improvement as compared to 294 rakes in July 2024. This has been NMDC’s best-ever July dispatch in recent years despite weather challenges. The miner managed to overcome logistical and production hurdles more efficiently than in previous years.

NMDC’s monthly iron ore output was recorded at 3.09 mnt in July, down by 13% m-o-m from 3.57 mnt in June.

Sourcing by Chhattisgarh-based units drops 35% m-o-m

NMDC dispatched 99 (0.38 mnt) iron ore rakes to Chhattisgarh-based units in Jul, down by 35% as against 152 (0.58 mnt) in Jun. Additionally, NMDC’s supplies to its Nagarnar plant dropped by 37% in July to 57 rakes compared to 90 rakes in June.

Sourcing by units outside Chhattisgarh held largely stable m-o-m

Overall, NMDC’s iron ore movements to plants outside Chhattisgarh fell marginally by 2% to 323 rakes in July against 329 rakes in June.

Furthermore, rake movement to key consumers such as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and KIOCL remained firm in July compared to June. RINL emerged as the top buyer in July, received 122 rakes against 121 rakes in the previous month, holding stable. KIOCL recorded a surge of 29% in its iron ore rake bookings from NMDC, at 75 in July compared to 58 in June. This was primarily driven by active pellet export tenders, which kept iron ore demand firm.

JSW Steel, Dolvi, received 69 iron ore rakes in July, stable compared with 70 in June.

AM/NS India sourced 21 rakes in July, up by 50% m-o-m against June bookings, while Jindal Steel witnessed a drop of 41% drop for its Odisha plants with 26 rakes in this month.

Outlook:

NMDC rake movement is expected to remain volatile in August amid the ongoing monsoon season and the recent hike in the iron ore prices. The miner fixed prices of DR CLO (10-40 mm, Fe 67%) at INR 6,850/t ($78/t) and of iron ore fines (-10 mm, Fe 64%) at INR 5,250/t ($60/t), an increase of INR 450/t ($5/t) and 400/t ($4.5/t), respectively.