Iron ore prices may rise 50%

The National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is expecting iron ore prices to gain up to 50 per cent by April. "The rise would be in alignment with the international market," V K Jain, director (production), NMDC, said on Tuesday.

"We anticipate the international price for iron ore to increase by 40-50 per cent by April this year," Jain added.

Price hikes in the international markets are determined mainly by Australian, Brazilian and Japanese iron ore positions, he added.

Jain said NMDC, which has a cash reserve of Rs 6,000 crore, is eyeing acquisitions of iron ore mines in Canada and West Africa. He added that the company was also mulling acquisitions in Australia.

"In Australia, we are looking at both coal and iron ore mines for acquisitions," Jain said.