Iron ore production at India’s National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) decreased by 24.7pc to 2.29mn mt in May 2020 from 3.04mn mt in the same month last year. Iron ore sales decreased by 33.2pc to 2.55mn mt in May from 3.37mn mt during the same month in 2019.
Iron ore output from NMDC’s Chhattisgarh mines fell by 26.9pc to 1.63mn mt in May from 2.23mn mt in May 2019. Sales from the site decreased by 29pc to 1.85mn mt from 2.61mn mt of during the same period under comparison, the company noted in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The Chhattisgarh mines produced 71.2pc of NMDC’s total iron ore with the company’s Karnataka project making up the balance 28.8pc of iron ore output.
Production at the company’s Karnataka mine decreased by 18.5pc to 0.66mn mt in May from 0.81mn mt in May 2019, while sales of the material from this location fell by 7.9pc to 0.70mn mt in May 2020 compared to 0.76mn mt in the same month a year ago.
NMDC’s cumulative production over the past two months declined by 31.1pc to 4.09mn mt compared to 5.94mn mt in the April-May period a year ago. Sales on the other hand, took a deeper fall of 35.3pc to 3.93mn mt in April-May 2020 compared to 6.07mn mt in the same two-month period in 2019. April production and sales were largely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.