Taskforce set up to assesss iron ore reserves

The Union ministry of steel has appointed a taskforce to assess the iron ore reserves in the country. Based on the report of the committee, the government will take a decision on restricting or banning iron ore exports. The government has been contemplating a ban on iron ore exports for some time.

Ram Vilas Paswan, Union minister for steel, said, "A taskforce has been appointed to conduct a study on the availability of iron ore in Indian mines. Based on the report, a decision would be taken on whether export of the mineral should be restricted or banned."

Export of high quality iron ore has been a cause for concern for the government, as domestic steel makers fear that exports of high quality iron ore will lead to tightening of the price and availability of the mineral.

Moosa Raza, president, Indian Steel Alliance, said, "We believe that the government should ban the export of high quality iron ore, with an Fe content of over 64 per cent, to protect the Indian steel companies from facing an adverse situation of unavailability and high prices. The ore should only be exported after a considerable value addition in the country. However, iron ore fines, with a low Fe content can still be exported."

With India targeting to more than treble its steel making capacity to 100 million tonne by 2020, requirement of iron ore is expected to increase considerably.

Meanwhile, international iron ore contract prices for the next year have jumped almost 20 per cent. "With China pulling up the demand for iron ore, global iron ore prices are likely to increase. This will have a significant impact on the domestic iron ore prices," an analyst said.