India's Smiore to boost Mn capacity in Karnataka

India's Sandur Manganese and Iron Ore (Smiore) has received approval from the environment ministry to increase its manganese ore capacity in Bellary, Karnataka state.

After securing approval from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) under the Air and Water Act, Smiore plans to raise its manganese ore production capacity from 430,000 t/yr to 550,000 t/yr. This will pave the way for higher ferro-manganese and silico-manganese production in the near future. But the company did not provide a timeframe for the project.

Argus assessed that prices for 60pc grade silico-manganese stood at 66,000-67,000 rupees/t, while prices for 70pc grade ferro-manganese were around Rs69,000-71,000/t ex-works on 19 September. The demand for alloy from domestic steel mills remains limited because of lower buying interest in steel products.

The company operates two mines with estimated reserves of about 17mn t of manganese ore and 117mn t of iron ore. Smiore sold about 9,396t of ferro-alloy in the April-June quarter, up by 35pc from a year earlier.

By Deepika Singh