The truckers in the state have stopped transportation of ore, demanding more tonnage rate which has further delayed the resumption of iron ore exports from Goa.
"When the price of 56 grade ore is USD 21/ dry tonne, the answer lies in the fact that a company will have to cut costs in its mining side, improve ore to waste ratio where possible and only operate those mines which are better than average so that we get some profit which can now be counted in cents per tonne," Sesa iron ore vice president (communications) Aniruddha Joshi said.
"There is lot of pressure on mining companies due to falling prices and heavy taxes. We must appreciate the efforts of the Goa CM to undertake steps towards (mining) resumption," Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association secretary Glenn Kalavampara said.
"However, delays in fiscal correction as well as arresting downward spiralling of prices may prove suicidal for industry. Certain aspects such as fiscal corrections are still within the control of government. However, control on prices (depends on) market dynamics," he said.
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"For every tonne of ore mined, depending on geology, certain waste has to be mined. In Goa, the ore to waste ratio varies from 1 tonne of ore: 3 tonnes of waste to 1 tonne of ore: 11 tonnes of waste," Joshi said.
"We can take average as 1 tonne of ore: 4 tonnes of waste. This means that if the cost of handling one tonne is Rs 100/tonne, the cost of mining of 1 tonne of ore is Rs 450/tonne because for every 1 tonnes, total of 4.5 tonnes has to be handled," he said.
"For truck owners we have offered Rs 8/tonne km and we estimate their cost to be Rs 5.50/tonne km. So if trucks can ply more than 100 kms in a day, they can earn Rs 2,500 per day. If the transportation timings are improved, this earning can go up to Rs 3,750 per day," Joshi added.