India: Bids in OMC iron ore lump e-auction surge by upto INR 500/t ($7)

Odisha's state-owned miner- Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) had scheduled iron ore lump e-auction today (31st July'20). The entire quantity of 600,000 t has been booked. Bids in today's auction increased upto INR 500/t over the set base price. The bid prices have risen amid tighter availability in Odisha owing to monsoons and also with majority of auctioned mining leases yet to resume production.

SteelMint's price assessment for Odisha iron ore index has increased by INR 500-600/t in the last one month.

The auction was conducted for 600,000 t iron ore lumps, out of which 590,000 t was DR-CLO and remaining 10,000 t was lumps. The miner had increased the base price by up to INR 300/t.

Bid price comparison of OMC iron ore E-auctions

Base prices in INR/MT on ex-mines basis; including royalty
Source: SteelMint Research

Odisha - India's largest iron ore producing state recorded production at 6.18 mn t in May'20, up 15%, as against 5.37 mn t in Apr'20, according to the provisional data of Odisha Govt. maintained by SteelMint. OMC output recorded at 1.08 mn t, a rise of 18% as compared to 0.92 mn t in Apr'20.