SteelMint: Odisha iron ore fines index rises INR 300/t, while market waits for OMC auction

SteelMint's weekly Odisha iron ore fines index (Fe 62%) moved up by INR 300/t w-o-w to INR 3,500/t ex-mines. The hike in pellet and sponge iron prices led to the hike in iron ore offers. Also, with the monsoons approaching, material availability is likely to remain tight.

SteelMint's bi-weekly domestic pellet (Fe 63%) index, PELLEX, stood at INR 8,500/tonne (t) DAP Raipur on 8 July 2022, up by around INR 350/t compared to the last assessment on 5 July.

Market participants are waiting for OMC's auction scheduled for 18 July. Around 1.23 mnt of lump ore and 1.56 mnt of iron ore fines will be put up for auction. The base prices for the auction is yet to be disclosed.

Rationale:

• T1- No confirmed deal for high grade (Fe 62%) was heard this week. Therefore, 0% weightage given in this index.
  
  
• T2- SteelMint received nine (09) offers and indicative prices under T2 trade deals in this publishing window out of which seven (07) were taken into consideration and given 100% weightage. To check SteelMint's iron ore assessment, pricing methodology and specification documents Click here.
  
  

Highlights from other states:

• SAIL books 20,000 t iron ore tailings in recent auction: SAIL conducted an auction for 40,000 t of iron ore tailings (Fe 58%- indicative) from its Barsua iron ore mine yesterday. Out of the total offered quantity, about 20,000 t received bids at INR 2,400/t (ex-mines, including royalty, DMF, NMET and additional premium).
  
  
• Vedanta sells 40,000 t iron ore lumps at Karnataka auction: In Vedanta's auction on 7 July for 140,000 t of iron ore from its A. Narrain mines in Karnataka's Chitradurga district, the entire quantity of 40,000 t of lump (Fe 58-60%) was booked at INR 3,834/t as against the base price of INR 3,174/t (excluding royalty, DMF and NMET), while 100,000 t of fines remained unsold.
  
  
• Fomento Resources, Vedanta place highest bid for iron ore blocks in Maharashtra: The Maharashtra government had put up three iron ore-bearing composite licenses for e-auction in early July. In the latest update received, Fomento Resources Private Limited was heard to have placed the highest bid for the Kondura and Nanos iron ore blocks at a final price offer of 76% and 80.05%, respectively. Vedanta Limited bagged the Sasoli iron ore block at a final price offer of 97.75%.
  
  

To know more about the Indian iron ore market watch out for the 'iron ore and pellets conference'.

SteelMint Events will be hosting the 5th Indian Iron Ore & Pellet Summit on 3-4 August, 2022 at The Lalit, New Delhi. The conference will discuss key issues being faced by the iron ore and pellets industry in India. The focus will be on market dynamics, policy-related changes, growth challenges and enablers, sustainability and decarbonisation goals, the way forward and many more talk points.