According to local media reports, Indian state-owned iron ore miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has increased iron ore production from India's Karnataka state up to 30,000 mt per day to meet the shortage faced by iron and steel making units in southern India.
NMDC is currently producing in the range of 28,000-30,000 mt a day. The company has planned to increase daily production to 35,000 mt; however, the rains in the region have not allowed this.
NMDC is the only company allowed to mine iron ore from Karnataka where the supreme court has banned mining activities. With NMDC increasing its production and the e-auction of iron ore stocks in the state, the demand of raw material in the state is expected to be relieved.
However, steelmakers are not very pleased with the base price for e-auction commencing on Wednesday. After the auctioning of the first batch of 400,000 mt, the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) suggested that the reserve price has been determined disregarding the predominant market prices, thus exploiting the buyers who are in serious need of raw material