Just 1.6% of purchased ore exported to China

PANJIM: As prices of low-grade iron ore in the International market continue to fall, firms that bid for ore in the e-auction have managed to export just 1.6 percent of the purchased ore to China. Till date just 12.29 lakh tonnes of ore, out of the 7.7 million tonnes of ore sold in 13 e-auctions, have been dispatched from Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) and Panjim Port. Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) has issued export permits for 21.01 lakh tonnes of ore from April 2014 till October 2015.  However, only 12.29 lakh tonnes have been exported through 25 ships. While 21 ships have sailed from MPT, four ships sailed from Panjim port with the ore.  The ore exporters include Sesa Sterlite, Shree Durga Mining company, Sudhar Ind Ltd, Shraddha Ispat Pvt Ltd, MMTC Ltd (Government of India), Bagadiya Brothers Pvt Ltd and Royalline Resources Pvt Ltd. The government, however, claims it has transported around 2.486 million tonnes of auctioned ore, which may include ore transported to local players. DMG has identified 15 million tonnes of ore for e-auction of which after 13 e-auctions it has managed to sell half the quantity. The first three e-auctions, held on February 17, March 4 and May 12, last year, had received a good response with over 15 companies participating in the process. Thereafter, with fall in iron ore prices, the demand for ore reduced during the subsequent e-auctions of August 19, November 6 and 7, 2014, and May 19, September 8, 10, 15, 22 and 30 and October 1. Traditionally Goa has been the biggest exporter of low grade iron ore to China, the ferrous content of the ore being as low as 58 Fe. With the mining industry shut down for the past three years, Goa has almost lost its China market, which has been captured by other mining countries like Brazil and Australia.