The government of the western Indian coastal state of Goa will put 2.3 million mt of iron ore fines up for sale in the 14th round of auctions to be held in December this year, a government official said on Monday, November 23.
According to the official, the Goa government was able to sell only about 9 million mt of iron ore fines of the total 16 million lying at dumps across the region over the previous 12 rounds of auctions, largely owing to the sharp decrease in international prices and the high export duty levied on overseas shipments.
The official pointed out that, though the export duty was slashed to 10 percent from 30 percent earlier in the year, considering the current international price of the raw material, a zero duty will ensure a much improved response to the auctions.
India’s Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel last week in a communication to the finance ministry sought the immediate scrapping of the 10 percent export duty, the official added.