Despite the Supreme Court has lifted ban on mining in Karnataka four months ago, iron ore supplies have not yet picked up. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), one of the major miners in Karnataka, expects fall in its production capacity to 6 million tonne per annum this year.
NMDC presently enjoys the largest mining capacity of 12 million tonne per annum. And it had set itself a production target of 28 million tonne of iron-ore this year.
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) expect to mine 15 million tonne iron ore this year. But these hopes have dimmed. Karnataka was accounting for 9-10 million tonne. The mining major has already mined 3 million tonne so far this year and the lower cap will not leave much headroom.