India's iron ore production rises by over 20%, m-o-m, in Oct'21

India's iron ore production increased sharply by 24%, month-on-month, in Oct'21 to 19.37 million tonnes (mn t), as per state-wise data compiled by SteelMint. Production has been significantly higher compared to 15.57 mn t in Sep.

The country's iron ore output in Oct was 3% higher than 18.72 mn t in Aug and SteelMint data shows that production inched up on a monthly basis in all the key iron ore producing states of the country.

Odisha production up 30%

Production from Odisha rose significantly by more than 30% on the month to 9.92 mn t in Oct compared to 7.41 mn t in the preceding month. Odisha's iron ore output has recovered significantly compared to last year, increasing by 85%, y-o-y, in H1FY'22.

Production from Chhattisgarh in Oct rose by 27% to 3.14 mn t vis-a-vis 2.46 mn t in the previous month. Production volumes increased from Karnataka and Jharkhand too, with iron ore production from the two states recorded at 3.54 mn t and 2.27 mn t, respectively.

Overall, India's iron ore output in Oct was higher by more than 11% compared to 17.38 mn t recorded in Oct'20, as per SteelMint data. Production from Odisha increased marginally y-o-y to nearly 10 mn t in Oct from 9.7 mn t in the same month last year.

Apr-Oct output climbs 45%

Data shows that the country's iron ore production increased by nearly 45% to over 140 mn t in Apr-Oct compared to less than 100 mn t in the corresponding period last year. Of course, the impact of the pandemic on mining volumes as well as logistical operations and manpower availability last year was severe. H1FY'22 saw iron ore production rising by 50%, y-o-y, due mainly to this reason.

Iron ore production increased by over 20% on the month in Oct due to recovery in mining and despatch operations after the generally weak second quarter of the fiscal when operations tend to get disrupted due to seasonal factors.

Notably, Oct production was 4.8 mn t more than Sep, of which the share of enhanced production from Odisha is nearly 2.5 mn t, or more than 50%. The state's share in the country's total production in the Apr-Sep period was 58%. Production from Odisha in Jan-Oct stood at 80.7 mn t, which is 57% of India's overall production during the period.

Miners raise output

SteelMint data reveals that all the leading iron ore miners in Odisha scaled up production in Oct on a monthly basis. JSW Steel increased output by over 20% to 2.34 mn t from 1.89 mn t in Sep. Similarly, state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) raised production significantly to 1.88 mn t.

Steel major SAIL's iron ore production from its captive mines in Odisha rose by 25%, m-o-m, in Oct to 1.4 mn t, while Tata Steel produced 1.34 mn t from its Odisha mines, SteelMint data shows. Merchant miner Rungta Mines recorded total output at over 0.9 mn t in Oct.

Integrated steel producer AM/NS India started operations at the 7.16 mn t per annum Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block in Odisha around Sep. The company aims to produce 2 mn t of ore from the mine in this calendar year, as per reports. Therefore, production is set to go higher in Odisha.

Steel major JSPL has started operations at the brownfield Kasia iron ore mine that it won at the second phase of the Odisha mineral block auctions this year. The mine has an annual capacity of around 6 mn t.

Production rebounds:

Senior officials of the Odisha government had informed SteelMint earlier that total iron ore production from the state in FY'22 is expected to be around 145 mn t. The state is on track to achieving that target, it seems. In fact, production from Odisha in the current fiscal is expected to be considerably higher than 107 mn t recorded in FY'21, as production from the auctioned mines fell by over 60%, y-o-y, last fiscal.

In fact, Odisha's iron ore output had been recorded at around 145 mn t in FY'20. After the initial disruption caused by the auctions in 2020, it is expected that Odisha production would recover to those levels in FY'22.