The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) expects India to become an importer of iron ore in the 2014-15 fiscal. In a curtain raiser event for the industry body’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, FIMI’s president, C Daga underscored that the country’s is expected to export only around 8-9 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore, while it is estimated to import around 15 mt. During the first quarter, the country exported 2.25 mt of iron ore compared with 3.01 mt in the same quarter last year.
He further highlighted the challenges on account of delays in obtaining clearances and renewal of mining licence, will propel the country to import 15 mt of iron ore to feed its steel plants and make it a net importer. Justifying this, he added that while JSW Steel is expected to have the highest volume of imports, Tata Steel has also begun importing iron ore.
Tata Steel imported 0.3-0.4 mt of iron-ore between May-July due to inability to extract iron ore from its captive mine due to a court order temporarily banning mining in Odisha.