According to local media, India’s state-owned and largest iron ore miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) expects to restore full production capacity within a month in order to be able to compensate for the impact of a 40 percent production cut implemented in the earlier stages of the lockdown period.
NMDC expects to produce 700,000-800,000 mt per month at Bailadila in Chhattisgarh and plans to achieve full production capacity at its Donimalai and Kumaraswamy mines in Karnataka. The company is able to operate its mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka as iron ore is labelled as an essential commodity by the Indian government.
The company has been using less than half of its capacity due to the decline in demand from end-users in the automotive and construction sectors, while NMDC expects steelmakers to stock iron ore ahead of the monsoon season, SteelOrbis understands.
In April this year, the company produced 1.8 million mt of iron ore, down 38 percent year on year.