An overview of Indian iron ore concentrate market

India's total iron ore production in financial year 2023 (FY'23) stood at 255 million tonnes (mnt). Odisha was the top iron ore producing state with over 140 mnt followed by Chhattisgarh and Karnataka with 42 mnt and 35 mnt, respectively.

Concentrate capacities in Jabalpur

Madhya Pradesh is the fifth largest iron ore producing state which produces around 3.5-3.8 mnt iron ore annually. The total concentrate capacity of Jabalpur region is estimated to be around 3.12 mnt per annum. In the last 1 year, iron ore concentrate prices have shown volatility.

The iron ore in Jabalpur is more siliceous in nature. The amount of alumina is very less in Jabalpur's iron ore as compared to Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Increasing capacities of iron ore concentrate in Jabalpur region

After 2020, the iron ore concentrate capacity has increased. Initially, the iron ore concentrate capacity in Jabalpur region was 1 lakh tonne per month then it increased up to 3-4 lakh tonnes, highlighted Mr. Sukanta Kumar Tripathy, Unit Head, VP Operations, Pacific Iron Manufacturing during Engage 4.0, a webinar series recently organized by SteelMint. The production capacity is somewhere between 30,000-40,000 t per month. Last year, due to establishment of 3 plants in this region the production capacity has gone up to 3.5 lakhs. Due to the nature of this region's iron ore it is easier to produce good quality of concentrate in low cost.

Nowadays, people are preferring vertical mills instead of ball mills as this helps to grind more efficiently.

Market size of key buyer segments

Jabalpur has good characteristics of iron ore as compared to Odisha as it is easily beneficiated. So, it is easy to get high Fe grade from low Fe grade material. Jabalpur's market size is also increasing because of the quality of its iron ore. However, the production of iron ore is much more in Odisha but for making pellet less alumina containing iron ore is required which is found in the Jabalpur region.

Key buyers of Jabalpur market are Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Karnataka. The key companies which are buying Jabalpur iron ore concentrate are NMDC, MSPL and BMM. However, the production is less but Jabalpur is having a big market size.

Current challenges being faced in iron ore concentrate market

In Jabalpur region, there is a logistics issue as the roads are not proper there. Also, there is one or two sidings due to which there is no efficient transportation of these materials. They are developing number of railway sidings in partnership with Indian railways because the road transport is not always suitable and its cost is quite high.

Their motto is to increase number of sidings there because the iron ore pocket is just 30-40 km from Jabalpur and the railway track line is also 40 km from the place where this beneficiation plant is located. Indian railways is planning a big logistics way there so that the issue gets resolved.

Imported vs domestic concentrate

There is not a big difference between grade of imported and domestic materials. Generally, Fe 63 grade concentrate is being used for pellet making. Concentrate produced in domestic market is of 63 grade. Canada and Brazil's iron ore are comparatively more magnetic in nature.

• Iron ore concentrate prices depend on steel demand.
  
  
• For producing concentrate the factors which are considered important is power and grinding media that affect production prices. By optimising the power requirements cost can be controlled.
  
  

It is estimated that the steel production will increase in the upcoming years and along with the steel production price of iron ore concentrate will also increase. Meanwhile, along with the iron ore concentrate the usage of mill scale is also increasing.