Of the one million tonnes of ore slated for e-auction, only 4.40 lakh tonnes of ore was bid for during the day, with 42 of the 56 lots being sold.
The base price for the auction was between Rs 300 per tonne to Rs 700 per tonne. The grade of the ore varies from 45 ferrous content to 60 Fe content.
A senior official confirmed the sale and said that the falling international prices of ore had impacted the bidding.
Directorate of Mines had identified 15 million tonnes of ore for e-auction, of which only 5 million tonnes of ore have been auctioned, fetching a revenue of Rs 800 crore. Nearly 8 lakh tonnes of ore are being exported to China.
The first three e-auctions, held on February 17, March 4 and May 12, last year, had received a good response. Thereafter, with the fall in iron ore prices in the international market, the demand for ore also reduced during the fourth and fifth e-auction on August 19 and November 6 and 7.
