On Thursday, June 23, an auction of 245,000 mt of iron ore lumps and fines conducted by Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), the mining arm of the government of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, received a “very poor response”, a state government official has said.
The official said that, while the final bids are being compiled, it is estimated bids will not be for more than 15-20 percent of the overall volume on offer.
According to the official, one of the major reasons for the lack of interest among buyers is the spread of the monsoon rains, and raw material buyers are not willing to risk increasing stocks as storage during the rainy season is a major issue.
At the same time, with current iron ore stocks of commercial miners in Odisha estimated at 77 million mt, steel mill and pellet plants prefer to enter into negotiated buying of iron ore lumps and fines instead of entering into competitive bidding at the higher reserve price fixed by OMC, the official added.