Vedanta Resources’ CEO Looks to Restart Iron Ore Production After Cut in Indian Export Duties Last Week

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Indian mining company Vedanta Resources’ (LSE:VED) CEO Tom Albanese said the company is looking to restart its iron ore production as soon as October, after India cut duties on lower-grade exports.

As quoted in the market news:

The possible return of one-time exporting giant India to the seaborne iron ore export market comes despite claims from Andrew Forrest that no new tonnes outside the major producers will come into production unless the price returns to above US$100 a tonne. India’s paring of its export duty from 30 per cent to 10 per cent, effective June, has made restarting production profitable for some miners in the state of Goa, even at current prices.

India’s domestic iron ore sector has been languishing since the Supreme Court ban on mining across three states was issued four years ago. The Supreme Court’s ban in Goa was lifted about a year ago, with the condition that mining would be capped at 20 million tonnes a year. But the country’s export duty had previously been too hefty to justify exporting.

Before the ban was slapped on, Vedanta was planning to spend US$500 million ($638 million) to double its then production capacity in Goa to 36 million tonnes. The industry expects the 20 million-tonne cap will be lifted or adjusted up if the resumption of exporting goes well. Goa was the country’s largest exporter of iron ore before the ban.

Click here to read the full Sydney Morning Herald report.