Government owned enterprise and export oriented pellet making unit – KIOCL has recently resumed purchase of iron ore fines from NMDC (Chhattisgarh) after a long gap of around 20 months. It had last sourced 14 rakes from NMDC (C.G.) in Dec’14.
As per the railway movement data maintained with SteelMint, KIOCL has started moving rakes from NMDC’s Kirandul region siding in Chhattisgarh to Gangavaram Port siding.
“We have started sourcing iron ore fines from NMDC (Chhattisgarh) and we will source material for upcoming pellet export shipment of around 50,000 – 55,000 MT”, reported a market source to SteelMint.
Presently NMDC (C.G.) fines (Fe 64%) prices are at INR 1,460/MT (Royalty, DMF, NMET & other taxes extra). Freight from NMDC’s Kirandul region to Gangavaram Port siding is presently around INR 997/MT.
It is to be noted that after closure of mining activities at captive mines of Kudremukh over grounds of environmental concerns, the pellet maker is currently devoid of captive iron ore mines. It has been sourcing iron ore through imports, NMDC (Chhattisgarh) or from Goa e-auctions. The company is also looking forward for other alternatives for mining in Karnataka as well as other states. It has also renewed request to speed up the process of captive mines allotment to it.
KIOCL’s pellet production fell by 87% in FY16
Pellet production of KIOCL dropped significantly in last fiscal over reduced iron ore sourcing. The company produced 0.1 MnT pellets in FY16 against 0.79 MnT in FY15.
KIOCL exported single pellet shipment so far in FY17
In FY17 (till Jul’16) KIOCL has exported a single shipment of 55,000 MT to China in May’16. Rising global pellet prices have raised realizations for export. Presently Indian pellet export offers are seen at USD 77-79/MT, FoB India.
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