State-owned NMDC has increased iron ore production from Karnataka up to 30,000 tonnes per day to meet the shortage faced by iron and steel making units in Southern India. At present, the company is producing in the range of 28,000 to 30,000 tonnes a day. The company plans to increase it to 35,000 tonnes per day however, rains are playing spoilsport.
NMDC is the only company permitted to mine iron ore from Karnataka by the apex court, which imposed a ban on mining in the state due to large-scale environmental degradation of the mining areas. The apex court had allowed the firm to mine one million tonnes (MT) of iron ore per month (or 12 MT in a year) from the state, which translated to about 33,500-34,000 tonnes of ore per day. The company will take a week's time to ramp up to the desired level of production once rains in the region stop.
Daily demand of Karnataka's iron and steel units is about 1,04,000 tonnes and many units have closed their operations due to paucity of the ore as per the estimates of Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC).
