Earlier on April 4, 2020, NMDC had reduced the price of iron ore by Rs 500 per tonne and DRCLO by Rs 580, a company release said. Now again NMDC has reduced the prices of iron ore both Lumps and Fines by Rs 400 per tonne and DRCLO by Rs 470 per ton, the miner said on May 13, 2020.

After the reduction, Lumps and Fines are now priced at Rs 2,250 and Rs 1,960 per tonne respectively while DRCLO at Rs 2,610, a senior official of NMDC said adding the reduction was effective from May 9, 2020.

This reduction in the prices of iron ore has given a lot of relief to the steel companies, especially sponge iron-based steel companies of Chhattisgarh, and NMDC has considered the current market scenario of steel and iron ore and took informed decision to rationalize the prices, it said. All major steel mills are running at reduced capacity because of depleted demand for end products. Some merchant miners at Orissa, including OMC (Odisha Mining Corporation), reduced the iron ore prices by Rs 500 per ton in their recently concluded auction, but still could not dispose of the entire quantity, NMDC said.