 "Iron ore production by NMDC up 37% in Oct-Dec")
Last year it produced 5.3 million tonnes during the same quarter.
The despatches registered whopping 40 per cent increase to 7.4 million tonnes during the October-December quarter against 5.3 million tonnes in the third quarter of last fiscal, according to official sources.
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"Total production up to December 31 stood at 20.3 million tonnes and despatches recorded at 21.24 million tonnes this fiscal," sources said.
In December, the miner added 2.8 million tonnes of iron ore production and 2.7 million tonnes of dispatches to its kitty, they added.
A senior official of NMDC indicated that the PSU would end up between 27-28 million tons of production by the end of the present fiscal.
"We are concerned more on despatches front rather than production side. Ore evacuation is challenging one," the official said.
The company has a total production capacity of 32 MT per annum at its mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. It targets to achieve 40 million tonnes capacity by 2014-15.
According to the official, the prices of iron ore for the month of January will be decided on or before January 6. The board meeting is scheduled to be held on that day.
The iron ore miner, which follows a monthly pricing system, hiked prices by Rs 200 on both lumps and fines last month. Its current prices are Rs 4,700 a tonne for lumps and Rs 3,010 a tonne for fines.
The price hike last month was in line with the global pricing of the ore and domestic demand-supply scenario, the official added.