MMTC looks to firm up iron ore supplies for key Odisha steel plant

MMTC, with a shareholding of 49.9 per cent, is the biggest equity partner in the 1.1 million tonne NINL plant, where two Odisha government PSUs hold stakes.

MMTC has floated open tenders for purchase of calibrated lump ore of 63.5 per cent Fe grade from mine owners of Joda and Barbil sectors for supply of four rakes containing 16,000 tonnes of the material. MMTC has also invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from the mine owners and traders for sourcing iron ore with 62 per cent Fe content for supply of at least 80,000 tonnes per month to the NINL plant in Duburi, Odisha.

NINL 's iron ore requirement is escalating as the steel maker looks to sustain its envisaged hot metal output of 3500 tonnes per day. After the blast furnace capital repair, NINL has been able to ramp up its hot metal and pig iron output significantly.

Riding on the enhanced output, NINL logged Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation0 profit of Rs 4000 per tonne from pig iron operations during April-August. In the comparable period of last financial year, the company was in the Ebitda negative zone.

Earlier this month, NINL commenced steel billets production from its Steel Melting Shop (SMS). The foray into steel billet production is part of NINL’s product diversification strategy to position itself among the top steel producers in the country. NINL, the country’s biggest producer and exporter of pig iron is on the turnaround trail after the successful completion of its blast furnace capital repair work in April this year.

The addition of steel billets to its varied product portfolio would help fuel the turnaround plans and inch closer to making net profit.