India's biggest iron ore producer National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is ramping up its production to ensure adequate supplies of the raw materials to steel plants and other allied industries.

The company produced 25 lakh tonnes of iron ore last month, the highest ever monthly production and about three lakh tonnes more than the previous month. It is looking at touching a production of about 7.5 million tonnes in the current quarter, which is about 15 per cent more than the last quarter.

“We may touch a production of 31-32 million tonnes this fiscal, which will be three to four mt more than our original target of 28 mt,” the NMDC Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Rana Som, told Business Line .

This move comes after the apex court allowing the company to resume mining operations in its Bellary region mines. It will be producing one million tonnes of ore from these mines, which resumed production from Saturday last.

While it will be supplying the material to companies with which it has long-term contracts, it will also divert some iron ore from its Bailadila mines to new customers. It has long-term contracts with JSW Steel, Essar Steel, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and the Lanco Group.

Mr Som sought to allay fears that steel units will be hit due to inadequate supplies of the raw material. “There are adequate inventories with the steel plants,” he said.

Iron and steel units in South India had been hit in the wake of the Supreme Court ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka. Auto component industries also fear that shortage of ore supplies could impact production — the automotive industry needs about 2 lakh tonnes of pig iron a month.

NMDC will continue its exports to Japan this fiscal, but the quantum of exports will be lesser in the wake of the tight domestic market position. It has got the approval to export 3.3 million tonnes of ore this fiscal. “We expect to export about 50 per cent of this in the current fiscal,” Mr Som said.

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