India: NMDC’s iron ore rake movements from Chhattisgarh fall nearly 20%, m-o-m, in April

Government-owned NMDC recorded iron ore rake movements from Chhattisgarh at 422 in Apr’22, lower by 19% against 519 in Mar, according to data maintained with SteelMint. The figures include movements within Chhattisgarh and to other state-based units but exclude supply to AM/NS India through slurry pipeline. Notably, a rake carries 3,850 tonnes (t) of iron ore.

The two-day nationwide strike of thousands of workers from state-owned companies ended 29 Mar.

RINL largest buyer: Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) remained the largest buyer of NMDC’s iron ore from Chhattisgarh in Mar. RINL’s iron ore sourcing moved down by 21% to 143 rakes in Apr as against 182 in Mar. The company’s crude steel production was hit, impacting about 8,000 t of daily production, from 28 Mar-4 Apr because of the labour union strike. During this period RINL’s rolling mills were also shut and the PSU operated only one blast furnace out of three, which impacted production for eight days till 4 Apr.

NMDC’s total iron ore rake movements to plants-based outside Chhattisgarh were recorded at 357 last month compared to 432 in Mar.

JSW Steel recorded a 3% decrease in receipt of iron ore rakes from NMDC Chhattisgarh at 150 in Apr as against 154 in Mar.

Southern India-based pellet maker KIOCL recorded iron ore sourcing at 47 rakes in Apr compared with 34 in Mar.

Chhattisgarh-based units source 65 rakes from NMDC: NMDC’s iron ore rake movements to Chhattisgarh-based units were recorded at 65 in Apr compared to 87 a month ago, as per data maintained with SteelMint. However, the figures are lower compared to the monthly average of 75-80 rakes. Notably, the miner had raised iron ore list prices by up to INR 200/t for Apr deliveries.

Movement for exports nil: NMDC’s long-term iron ore export contracts with Japanese steel mills (JSMs) and South Korea’s POSCO were scrapped as its key sop of a reduced 10% export duty was removed as against the normal 30% paid by private iron ore exporters.

NMDC’s (Chhattisgarh) iron ore rake movement: Apr’22 vs Mar’22

Figs. exclude ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited’s movement through slurry pipeline.
Each rake carries approximately 3,850 t of iron ore
Source: SteelMint Research, Railways