Bailadilla iron ore despatches up 13 lakh tonnes in FY04

Iron ore despatches from Bailadilla mines "� owned by National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) "� have increased by around 13 lakh tonnes during the fiscal ended March 31, 2004.

NMDC is expecting around 5-8 per cent growth in ore despatches from Bailadilla in the current year.

NMDC has been supplying Bailadilla ore to major steel companies like Ispat Industries Limited, Vikram Ispat, Vizag-based Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Essars Hy-grade pellets and to State-owned MMTC Limited for exports to Japan and China.

"During 2003-04, we have dispatched around 166 lakh tonnes of iron ore from Bailadilla mines, as against 153 lakh tonnes, thus registering a growth of around eight per cent," NMDC sources told Business Standard.

"The production has been slowly stabilising in the new mines "� 10 and 11A, which has buoyed production during the just ended fiscal. We expect production from Bailadilla mines to increase further in the current year," they added.

Existing customers "� mainly Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and Hy-grade pellets "� are demanding additional quantities of ore from Bailadilla mines. Besides, the NMDC is also planning to export some Bailadilla ore on its own. Therefore, it has decided to increase production at Bailadilla, said sources.

During 2003-04, NMDC supplied around 58 lakh tonnes of iron ore to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, 44 lakh tonnes to Essar Group's Hy-grade pellets, 16 lakh tonnes to Ispat Industries Limited and around six lakh tonnes to Vikram Ispat. In addition to this, around 46 lakh tonnes of Bailadilla iron ore was supplied to the MMTC, which is the canalising agent for iron ore exports.

"At present, our main constraint is the transport of ore from Bailadilla to Vizag. We are constantly coordinating and monitoring with the railway officials for the better supply of rail racks. This will help in increasing our despatches in the current year," officials said.

Meanwhile, Japanese steel mills have already agreed to pay 18 per cent more on last year's price on Bailadilla ore, MMTC sources said. NMDC has also increased the ore prices for domestic customers. Therefore, NMDC's revenue from Bailadilla ore this fiscal will increase significantly, sources added.