Indian iron ore market overview - week 42, 2020

Chhattisgarh - Steel Authority of India (SAIL) conducted an e-auction from its Dalli Rajhara iron ore mines in Chhattisgarh for 28,000 t iron ore fines (Fe 60.89%) on 16th Oct. The entire quantity offered of fines received bids at INR 3,120/t (loaded into rakes and including royalty) over the set base price of INR 3,000/t as per the sources. The bid price was lowered by around INR 400/t against the last auction.

Odisha - Tight availability of high-grade iron ore in the merchant market continued to remain a concern in Odisha.

After Goa's miners were granted extra time by the Supreme Court on similar grounds the former lessee of Nuagaon iron ore mines in Odisha, KJS Ahluwalia has moved the High Court of Orissa seeking six more months for dispatches.

As per the sources, the Odisha govt may put 14 mineral blocks for auction soon. The central government has decided to experiment with a pre-approved environment and forest clearances with an aim to reduce the hassle and time for prospective lessees.

Odisha iron ore prices:

Karnataka - National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has increased iron ore prices by around INR 200/t for Karnataka e-auction, sources reported SteelMint. The base price of NMDC fines (Fe 64%) from Kumaraswamy mines stands at INR 3,073/t (basic). Iron ore e-auctions scheduled earlier this month were canceled and no auction took place till mid-Oct'20. This resulted in an increase in Bellary pellet offers.

Goa- Goa miners have been granted an extension until the end of January 2021 to dispatch material mined before 16 March 2019, when mining came to halt in the state.

Imports - Tight availability of high-grade ore has led to an increase in imports. According to vessel line-up data maintained till mid-Oct'20 with SteelMint, nearly 200,000 t of pellets and 100,000 t of iron ore concentrates are likely to be imported by AM/NS India from Bahrain and Ukraine respectively.