The country’s largest iron ore miner NMDC on Wednesday announced a hike in the prices of lump ore by Rs 700 per tonne and fines by Rs 1,500 per tonne with immediate effect.

Iron ore is a key raw material used in steel making. Any change in its prices has a direct impact on the rates of steel. The announcement has come at a time when steel is trading at an all-time high. In May 2021, the steel makers raised prices of Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) by Rs 4,000 to Rs 67,000 per tonne and Cold Rolled Coil (CRC) by Rs 4,500 to Rs 80,000 per tonne.

After the price revision, a tonne of lump ore or high grade iron will cost Rs 7,650 a tonne while the buyers will get iron ore fines or inferior grade ore for Rs 6,560 per tonne, NMDC said in a BSE filing.

The revised prices exclude royalty, District Mineral Fund (DMF), National Mineral Exploration Trust (DMET), cess, forest permit fee, and other taxes, the company said.

It added that the new rates are effective from May 12, 2021.

On April 14, 2021, NMDC had fixed the rates for lump ore at Rs 6,950 a tonne and for fines at Rs 5,060 a tonne.

NMDC, under the ministry of steel, is India's single largest iron ore producer, producing about 35 MT iron ore annually from its three fully mechanized mines located in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Besides, the company is also involved in the exploration of other minerals like copper, rock phosphate, lime stone, dolomite and gypsum.