NMDC eyes 8% growth in iron ore despatches

State-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is targeting an eight per cent growth in iron ore despatches from Bailadilla mines this fiscal.

The corporation is expecting iron ore despatches to touch 180 lakh tonnes during the last fiscal, as compared to 163 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal.

In the current fiscal, NMDC has agreed to supply about 46 lakh tonnes of iron ore to MMTC to meet export obligations, 57 lakh tonnes to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), 44 lakh tonnes to Essar group's Hy-grade Pellets Limited, 16 lakh tonnes to Ispat Industries Limited and six lakh tonnes to Vikram Ispat, from Bailadilla mines, which has one of the best grade iron ore in the country.

During the first six months of the current fiscal, NMDC supplied about 77 lakh tonnes of ore to these units, as compared to 79 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period in the last fiscal.

"During the second quarter of this fiscal, VSP reduced its hot metal production, and thus requested us to slow down the ore supply. Due to this, our despatches decreased during the first half of the current fiscal," a senior NMDC official told Business Standard.

In the current year up to the end of September, NMDC supplied 23.08 lakh tonnes to MMTC, 25.25 lakh tonnes to VSP, 20.72 lakh tonnes to Hy-grade Pellets, 5.69 lakh tonnes to Ispat Industries Limited and 2.49 lakh tonnes to Vikram Ispat.

"We however, trying to reach the targeted figure of 180 lakh tones," the official said.