India to ship 16.5 million tonnes of iron ore to Japan, South Korea

NEW DELHI: The government today approved the renewal of agreement for supplying up to 16.5 million tonnes (MT) of high grade iron ore to steel plants in Japan and South Korea over three years till March 2018.

"The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to renew long term agreement with Japanese and South Korean steel mills for supply of high grade Indian iron ore, during the three year period from April, 2015 to March, 2018," Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The quantities covered under the agreement will be in the range of 3.8 MT to 5.5 MT per year and will be supplied primarily from the mines of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), an official statement said.

"The contract will be executed by the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India Limited ( MMTC) under the Department of Commerce," it added.

India has been supplying high grade iron ore to Japan and South Korea under Long Term Agreements for the last four to five decades, the statement said.

"These agreements will help continue this relationship and strengthen Indo-Japanese collaboration in several areas of mutual interest, including technology transfer, joint venture, investment, etc," it added.

The agreement will also help utilise surplus production of iron ore currently available in India, it said.