India's Vedanta iron ore output falls on quarter

Indian diversified mining company Vedanta's iron ore production fell in April-June compared to the previous quarter, because of a temporary mining suspension in Karnataka state.

The company's total saleable iron ore output totalled 1.3mn t in the first quarter, down by 27pc from the previous quarter. Production of saleable ore from Vedanta's Karnataka operations dropped by 33pc on the quarter and by 4pc on the year to 1.2mn t during April-June, the company said.

Iron ore production fell because of a government-ordered suspension of mining activity at Chitradurga district in Karnataka in late April. The order was revoked on 21 May, following which Vedanta restarted operations.

But total iron ore output increased on the year, as the company's Goa mine produced about 100,000t of saleable ore. Vedanta started iron ore mining operations at the Bicholim mine in Goa during the April 2023-May 2024 fiscal year, following a six-year hiatus.

Pig iron output fell by 4pc on the year to 205,000t in April-June, owing to a blast furnace shutdown towards the end of the quarter.

Vedanta's quarterly steel production increased by 10pc on the year to 356,000t, and was 4pc higher compared to the previous quarter.

The company's steel plant at Bokaro city in the state of Jharkhand has a hot metal capacity of 1.7mn t/yr, which the company plans to scale up to 3.5mn t/yr in the current fiscal year. It manufactures a range of finished steel products such as wire rod, rebar and ductile iron pipes.

Vedanta's iron ore and steel production hit a record high of 5.6mn t and 1.4mn t respectively in the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year.

By Amruta Khandekar