By Krishna N Das
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - JSW Steel Ltd
Goa has traditionally exported most of its iron ore to China as local steel mills preferred using higher-quality ores. Mining bans in some states, however, have forced them to use grades with less iron, which might now help them cope with the mine closures in top iron-ore producer Odisha.
JSW could use the Goa ore in its 3.3 million-tonne-per-year coastal plant in neighbouring Maharashtra, an industry source said.
The ore was bought for 1,830-1,970 rupees ($31-$33) per tonne - the usual price for Goan ore, the source added.
JSW's purchase was its first from Goa in many years. A company spokesman declined comment on the auction data, which came out over the weekend.
The purchase by JSW is a fraction of about 15 million tonnes of ore that had sat in a stockpile in Goa and which was ordered to be auctioned off by the Supreme Court late last year.
Kalyani Steels
The Supreme Court last month lifted a 19-month old ban on mining in Goa, India's top iron ore-exporting state, but capped annual output at 20 million tonnes.
On Friday the court also ordered the temporary closure of nearly half of the mines in Odisha due to non-renewal of years-old leases.
The Supreme Court directed the government of Odisha to first consider renewal applications for miners who process their own ore, such as Tata Steel Ltd
Odisha's mines director Deepak Kumar Mohanty said the state - where output was more than 70 million tonnes last fiscal year - has yet to take any decision on the renewals, though it would abide by the court's decision.
Ritesh Shah, analyst with Mumbai-based Espirito Santo Securities, said the Odisha ban could turn India into a net importer of iron ore this year.
India was once the world's largest exporter of iron ore, shipping out a record of more than 117 million tonnes in the fiscal year through March 2010.
It slipped to No.10 last fiscal year, with estimated exports of less than 20 million tonnes.
(Addtional reporting by Jatindra Das in Bhubaneswar; Editing by Tom Hogue)
