NMDC iron ore sales fall in October on rail disruptions

India's NMDC reported an 11.6pct YoY decline in iron ore sales to 3.44 mln tons in October 2026, despite production increasing by 18pct to 5.04 mln tons.

The decline in sales was attributed to disruptions on the Kottavalasa-Kirandul railway line following heavy monsoon rains in September and October, which temporarily affected dispatches from the company's Bailadila mines.

Production in Chhattisgarh rose to 3.36 mln tons from 3.06 mln tons a year earlier, while output in Karnataka increased to 1.68 mln tons from 1.21 mln tons.

Rail connectivity has since been restored, and NMDC expects dispatches and sales to improve in the coming months.

For the April-October period, NMDC's iron ore production increased by 22pct YoY to 32.32 mln tons, while sales edged down by 1.7pct to 25.67 mln tons. The state-owned miner is targeting annual iron ore production of more than 60 mln tons in the current fiscal year.

NMDC is India's largest iron ore producer, operating the high-grade Bailadila mines in Chhattisgarh and the Donimalai and Kumaraswamy mines in Karnataka. The company aims to increase its iron ore production capacity to 100 mln tons per annum by FY2031.