NMDC Ltd has commissioned two R 9200 Liebherr face shovels at its Donimalai open pit iron ore mines in the Bellary district of India’s Karnataka state which recently restarted production. The machines were supplied through Liebherr India Private Ltd – Mining Division in Kolkata which covers sales and service of mining excavators and trucks in the country as well as excavator GET. The R 9200 has a 12.5 m³ bucket capacity, the largest in its class. It offers optimal loading of 100 ton and 140 ton class trucks (such as the 100 ton BEML BH100 and Cat 777D units used at the mining complex) and is powered by a single Cummins QSK38 diesel engine.
Resumption of mining operations at Donimalai operations will improve iron ore supply in the country and help ease prices of the key steel making raw material. The mines had seen production suspended since November 2018 when its 50 year lease expired due to talks with the Karnataka government regarding premiums to be paid on iron ore production which have now been successfully concluded. A lease extension has now been approved until 2038. In the Donimalai mining complex there are two iron ore mines – Donimalai and Kumaraswamy.
The Donimalai mines are set to boost ore output of the company by about 7 Mt/y at a permitted mining rate of 0.5-0.6 Mt per month. The Donimalai iron ore mine has a total concession area of 597.54 hectares and an estimated resource of 149 Mt. Donimalai is particularly important for iron ore supply to steel customers in southern India. Resumption of the Donimalai mines will also help NMDC meet its production targets. NMDC contributes about 20% of India’s total iron ore requirements.
NMDC produces about 35 Mt/y iron ore from its three iron ore complexes in the country – Donimalai in Karnataka and two mines in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh – Bailadila Iron Ore Mine, Kirandul Complex and Bailadila Iron Ore Mine – Bacheli Complex. The company has also set an ambitious target of producing 100 Mt by 2030.
The state iron ore miner has reported impressive results for the last nine months of 2021 (the first nine months of the Indian 2022 fiscal year, or FY22), registering a 125% growth in turnover of INR19,179 crore (US$2.563 billion) for the first nine months of FY22 compared to INR8,522 crore achieved during the same period of FY21. Profit before tax increased by 122% to INR7,583 crore. NMDC produced 10.65 Mt and sold 9.85 Mt of iron ore in the third quarter of FY22 (or Q4 of the 2021 calendar year). Cumulative production and sale figures for the first three quarters of F22 stood at 28.33 Mt and 28.28 Mt respectively.
Commenting on the performance, Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said: “This strong performance was achieved on the back of enhanced production under challenging times and should reach the production target this fiscal. We continue to be committed to completing important capex projects and the digitalisation and automation of our operations.”
