India's NMDC iron ore production for the full year of 2024 decreased by 3.18% YoY.

India's largest state-owned iron ore producer, NMDC, released its production and sales report for December 2024 and the full year. The details are as follows: Production: In December 2024, NMDC's iron ore production reached 4.71 million mt, up 5.1% YoY. For the full year 2024, iron ore production totaled 30.77 million mt, down 3.18% YoY. Specifically, Chhattisgarh's iron ore production in 2024 was 20.47 million mt, down 4.61% YoY, accounting for approximately 66.52% of NMDC's total annual production. Karnataka's iron ore production in 2024 was 10.3 million mt, down 0.19% YoY, accounting for approximately 33.48% of NMDC's total annual production. Sales: In December 2024, iron ore sales were 3.91 million mt, down 6.7% YoY. For the full year 2024, iron ore sales declined 0.44% to 31.8 million mt. Specifically, Chhattisgarh's iron ore sales in 2024 were 22.43 million mt, up 1.22% YoY, accounting for approximately 69.38% of NMDC's total annual sales. Karnataka's iron ore sales in 2024 were 9.37 million mt, down 4.19% YoY, accounting for approximately 30.62% of NMDC's total annual sales. The decline in NMDC's production and sales in 2024 was mainly due to a workers' strike in May 2024 over wage issues, which disrupted production at mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Additionally, since Q3, local monsoon weather in India significantly impacted iron ore production during July-August. As early as Q3 2023, NMDC formulated a capacity expansion plan to increase its annual iron ore production from 45 million mt in FY2024 to 67 million mt in FY2025, with a target of achieving 100 million mt of annual production by 2030. If successfully implemented, this expansion plan is expected to increase its market share in India's iron ore market from 20% to 25%.