SAIL sits on 42 mn tonnes of sub-grade ore, mulls beneficiation plant
With sub-grade iron ore fines inventory piling up, state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is looking to set up a beneficiation plant to consume the ore generated by its mines in future.
As on March 31, 2021, the company is sitting on total 42.60 million tonne sub-grade iron ore fines and has been able to sell a meager 0.40 million tonne during the year.
“Sub-grade iron ore fines sold outside of mining leased area attracts royalty for the seller making the dispatch costly. Due to this, instead of selling outside, it makes more sense (for the company) to set up a beneficiation plant in the mining lease area and consume in-house,” Manish Kharbanda, president at Pellet Manufacturers’ Association of India told Business Standard.
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Iron ore prices jump threefold in a year amid waning supply and rising demand
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Sources have also said that there could be further hikes from NMDC in the coming days. The rise in iron ore prices is also likely to keep steel prices elevated in the short term, analysts said.
Indian iron ore prices have jumped nearly threefold in the past year amid tight supplies and increasing demand for steel, even as China’s exchanges on Monday raised the trading limits and margin requirements for some iron ore contracts to cool the price rally, Indian analysts expect iron ore prices to stay elevated for the next two-three quarters.
Though the fine print and official confirmation of the mining sector reforms the Union Cabinet approved on Wednesday are yet to come, industry players are elated at the steps taken. There are, however, concerns over implementation at the state level and the environmental impact of mining. “Directionally, it is a good set of reforms. But since implementation is with state governments, the key lies in how each state executes it at its end. Even today, for a final go or no go, in terms of approvals, it takes about three-four years, and this scares away investors,” said Ritabrata Ghosh, assistant vice president (corporate ratings and industry research) at ICRA.