India: Karnataka Iron Ore E-Auction Sales Hit Over 1 Year High in Feb'19
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Karnataka has registered an increase of 27% M-o-M iron ore sales volume in Feb'19 e-auctions. Total iron ore allotted quantity stood at 3.17 MnT in Feb'19 compared to 2.49 MnT in Jan'19.
On yearly basis, Karnataka e-auction sales have increased drastically by 65% in Jan'19 as compared to 2.06 MnT in Jan'18.
JSW Steel increased sourcing from Karnataka e-auctions by 36% in Feb'19
JSW Steel's iron ore purchases from Karnataka e-auctions increased by 36% to 1.98 MnT in Feb'19 compared to 1.45 MnT in Jan'19. Out of 1.98 MnT iron ore sourced by JSW, NMDC supplied 1.04 MnT up by 16% against 0.9 MnT last month and thus contributed around 53% of total JSW sourcing. JSW Steel's iron ore sourcing from private mines increased by 69% to 0.93 MnT in Feb'19 as against 0.55 MnT in Jan'19.
Vedanta remained second-largest iron ore supplier to JSW Steel at 0.37 MnT in Feb'19, down by 3% as compared to 0.38 MnT in Jan'19.
NMDC iron ore sales increased sharply from Kumaraswamy mines
NMDC's iron ore sales increased by 27% M-o-M to 1.34 MnT in Feb'19 compared to 1.05 MnT in Jan'19. NMDC's announcement of temporarily suspending operations at Donimalai in Karnataka does not seem set for a quick resolution with the Centre intervening to broker peace between the miner and the Karnataka government. As per the senior state-level officials, NMDC has approached the Karnataka High Court for an urgent hearing on NMDC Donimalai lease renewal. In further development, the High Court heard the final remarks from both the parties and the reserved case for judgement till next hearing for which date has not been announced yet.
Buyer-wise allotted quantity of Feb'19 iron ore E-auctions
| Company | Fines | Lumps | Grand Total |
| JSW Steel Ltd | 1,660,000 | 314,840 | 1,974,840 |
| BMM Ispat Limited | 204,000 | - | 204,000 |
| Janki Corp Limited | 104,000 | 9,000 | 113,000 |
| MSPL Limited | 80,000 | - | 80,000 |
| Minera Steel And Power Private Limited | 56,000 | - | 56,000 |
| Others | 220,000 | 521,000 | 741,000 |
| Grand Total | 2,324,000 | 844,840 | 3,168,840 |
Qty in MT
Source: GOK, DMG, SteelMint Research
Major highlights of Feb'19 Karnataka iron ore e-auctions-:
1. Vedanta procured 28,000 MT iron ore, out of which 12,000 MT was lumps (Fe 63%) at INR 3,710/MT from P. Balasubba Setty & Son for its pig iron plant in Goa and rest 16,000 MT lumps and fines from its own mines in Karnataka.
2. Electrotherm India Ltd - a Gujarat based company procured 8,000 MT iron ore lumps (Fe 63-64.5%) at INR 3,720-3,800/MT.
3. Western India based pellet maker - Jindal SAW purchased 4,000MT iron ore lumps (Fe 63% grade) at INR 3,710/MT.
4. Southern India based pellet maker - XIndia Steel booked 16,000 MT iron ore fines (Fe 64-65%) at INR 2,690-2,760/MT. The pellet maker is likely to start commercial pellet production shortly as per sources.
