India: SAIL books over 1.5 mnt iron ore fines in merchant market till Oct

India's state-owned steelmaker, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has sold over 1.5 mnt t of iron ore fines in the merchant market through auctions so far in CY'20 (till Oct) as per data maintained with SteelMint.

Auctions have been conducted from its Odisha and Chhattisgarh mines. However, due to some awaited clearances from the Jharkhand state govt, auctions are yet to be conducted from Jharkhand.

In Sept'19, the Indian government allowed Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to sell 25% of its total annual iron ore production in the merchant market, to ensure sufficient supplies. SAIL produces about 25 mnt iron ore annually.

In addition to it, the government of India also granted permission to sell 70 mn t of sub-grade minerals in the captive mines of SAIL.

However, the company yet to receive permission for the sale of the iron ore dump from the respective state governments.