India: AM/NS iron ore sourcing from captive mines up 62% m-o-m in Oct'21

Steel major ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) recorded total iron ore and pellet sourcing at 1.07 million tonnes (mn t) in Oct'21, an increase of 12% against 0.95 mn t seen in Aug'21.

The company's captive iron ore sourcing from Odisha was recorded at 371,850 tonnes (t) in Oct'21 as against 229,152 t in Sept'21, up 62% m-o-m. Notably, AM/NS India commenced mining operations at Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block in Odisha on 9 Sept'21. The mine has an EC limit of 7.16 mn t/year and 99.59 mn t of iron ore reserves spread over an area of 139.165 hectares in Sundergarh district. The company expects to produce 2 mn t of ore in this calendar year.

Iron ore procurement from NMDC (Chhattisgarh) inches up in Oct'21: The steelmaker procured 697,000 t of iron ore in Oct'21 from NMDC's Bailadila mines (Chhattisgarh) via slurry pipeline, against 689,000 t in Sept'21.

Sourcing from Odisha merchant mines down in Oct'21: The company has sourced 3,042 t of iron ore from Odisha's merchant mines in Oct'21 as against 34,930 t in the previous month.

Out of the total iron ore sourced from Odisha's merchant mines in Oct'21, the entire quantity was contributed by MGM Minerals while sourcing from Indrani Patnaik and Rungta Mines were nil for this month.

Along with this, the company recorded nil imports for the month, according to customs data maintained with SteelMint. The spot iron ore fines (Fe 62%) index stood at $118/t, CNF China towards early Oct'21 and decreased to $113/t, CNF China towards end-Oct'21.

Quantity in tonnes
Source: SteelMint
Figure includes AMNS India's captive mines iron ore procurement

Key highlights

• AM/NS India's expansion plans are progressing well. In Hazira, it plans to take the capacity to 18 mn t. And in Odisha, the company is looking at an additional 12 mt greenfield steel plant.
  
  
• The company is planning to manufacture speciality steel under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme. According to the recent notification received by the government, the scheme aims to boost the production of speciality steels in India.