Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:In a move to reduce wastage and promote utilisation of low-grade iron ore, the Government has amended rules to revise pricing norms for such ore, the Ministry of Mines said on April 14. The amendment provides a framework for pricing iron ore with iron (Fe) content below the threshold level of 45 per cent, including Banded Haematite Quartzite (BHQ) and Banded Haematite Jasper (BHJ), it said.
Under the revised rules, the average selling price (ASP) for iron ore, with 35 per cent to below 45 per cent Fe content, will be fixed at 75 per cent of the ASP of 45 per cent to below 51 per cent grade ore. While for ore with Fe content below 35 per cent, the ASP will be 50 per cent of the same benchmark. Moreover, the threshold value refers to the minimum grade below which mined material is typically treated as waste. However, with advancements in beneficiation technologies, low-grade iron ore, including BHQ and BHJ, can now be processed into usable high-grade material for steelmaking.
Prior to the amendment, there was no separate pricing mechanism for such low-grade ores. As a result, the ASP of higher-grade ore (45–51 per cent Fe) was used for royalty and other levies, making beneficiation economically unviable, according to the government.
It further said that the new framework aims to correct this anomaly and incentivise the scientific and optimal utilisation of low-grade iron ore resources. The government also noted that bringing such resources into the usable category will help address concerns over the depletion of high-grade reserves, ensure steady raw material supply to the steel industry, and support mineral conservation.
