Karnataka Manganese Ore E-auction Receives Good Response; Almost Entire Quantity Booked

State-owned, MSTC-Karnataka, conducted the e-auction on 25 Nov' 19. Despite low demand and continuous falling Manganese alloy prices, the auction received a moderate response, as the entire quantity of Manganese ore was booked in the auction except for one lot of 504MT. A tender for 31,752 MT was released by MSTC -Karnataka, while only 504MT was not booked. Ores from Sandur Manganese & Iron Ore (SMIORE) Mines were put under the hammer during this month's auction. The Auction was concluded in two phases. The first auction received an overwhelming response; meanwhile, the second auction received a meager response.

The Manganese (Mn) content of the material offered was in the range of 26-34% and Iron (Fe) content was in the range of 16-30%, according to information on MSTC's website. Royalty 5%, & GST (5% on Ore auction price; 18% on Royalty, and Bulk permit processing fee) are applicable.

For the first phase, the total Value at Floor Price was INR 85,932,000 and the total Value at Bid Price was at INR 92,418,480 which was 7.55% higher than the floor value. While, for the second auction, the entire quantity was not booked. The total offered quantity was 15,120 MT and the booked quantity was14,616 MT. For the second auction, the total Value at Floor Price was INR 60,631,200 and the total Value at Bid Price was at INR 62,349,840 which was marginally up by 2.83% as compared to the floor value. The base prices were lowered by up to 25% for the month of November. Due to falling global prices, the major producer MOIL also corrected the prices by 25%. However, the prices are now getting stable, and with the recent upswing in the prices of Manganese Alloys, the Manganese alloy producers are in a bit of relief.