Private miners from Balaghat have raised offers, as the demand is steady, and in line with increased offer prices by MOIL for the next quarter. State-owned and India’s largest manganese ore producer, Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) hiked prices by 3% across all its product offerings for January-March (Quarter-4) owing to low imports and low availability of ore in the domestic market.

Current prices at Balaghat are: Manganese Ore 34-36% = INR 9,500/MT (USD 4.35/dmtu); 42-44% = INR 13,100/MT (USD 4.88/dmtu). Prices mentioned are including Royalty and excluding All Taxes. Domestic offers for Manganese Ore from Odisha have also increased marginally. Current prices at Odisha are: Manganese Ore 30-32% = INR 7,500/MT (USD 3.87/dmtu); 34-35% = INR 8,500/MT (USD 3.89/dmtu); 44-46%= INR 15,000. Prices mentioned are inclusive of Royalty excluding taxes. Price for South African Carbonate Ore grade 37-38% is USD 4.5/dmtu (INR 10,513 /MT).

Private owners in Balaghat are currently facing sales pressure in the market as most end users are preferring material offered by MOIL. Currently in the domestic market there is steady demand and supply tightness. Sandur Manganese and Iron Ore Ltd (SMIORE) have suspended its mining operations with effect from January 1, 2014 following the expiry of its mining lease on December 31, 2013. The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court has capped the mining capacity of SMIORE at 740,000 per annum as against the original sanctioned capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per annum following the approval of its reclamation and rehabilitation plan. Its Manganese production capacity is capped at 180,000 tonnes per annum from 600,000 tonnes per annum sanctioned capacity.

Recently another private Manganese Ore miner, Orissa Manganese and Minerals Limited (OMML), a subsidiary of Adhunik Metaliks Limited has increased its prices by INR 500 /MT for 2014. OMML having an annual production of about 2 lakh tonnes contributes 9% of the country’s overall Manganese Ore production.

SteelMint learnt from market sources that price to remain at this level for the next few weeks as the steel market is currently stable.