Major Buyers of Iron Ore from Odisha's Serajuddin Mines in CY'17

Serajuddin Mines is 2^nd largest merchant iron ore miner in Odisha with annual production of around 10 MnT. The miner has an EC limit of 15.15 MnT pa.

The miner has dispatched 9.56 MnT in CY'17 and remained a major source of iron ore to steel firms like JSW Steel, Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel along with other sponge and steel units.

JSW was the largest buyer of iron ore from Serrajuddin in CY'17 at 1.84 MnT contributing 19% of total share of iron ore dispatches by Serajuddin Mines. Other major buyers were - Bhushan Steel 1.59 MnT (17% share), Essar Steel 1.23 MnT (13% share), and Rashmi Metaliks 0.85 MnT (9% share).

Major Iron Ore Buyers from Serajuddin Mines in 2017-:

Quantity in MnT
Source: SteelMint Research

The Supreme Court of India issued a judgment on illegal iron ore mining case in the state of Odisha on 02 Aug'17. In a common cause notice issued to Odisha based merchant miners; they were alleged of excess production beyond the granted EC (Environmental Clearance) limits. In its order, the Supreme Court (SC) called for the recovery of 100 percent compensation in lieu of the excess ore lifted to be submitted 31 Dec'17.

Five working iron ore mines MESCO Steel, Serajuddin & Company, government-owned IDCOL, Korp Resources and National Enterprises in Odisha have gone out of operations as they failed to pay out the penalties by the fixed deadline. Following which iron ore prices by other Odisha based miners have increased sharply.

According to trade sources, miners have next hearing on non-payment of penalty and resuming operation is scheduled on 17 Jan'18. There is uncertainty whether Court allows them to resume operation or not as it's totally depending on court discretion after miners submit the penalty amount. Market participants are watching the scenario closely as if the similar situation persists for longer time, scarcity of iron ore may continue resulting in a further hike in prices.