Posted on 24 Nov 2020
Tata Steel has tested some samples of coking coal imported from Russia’s Far East in its steelmaking process for the first time. The producer aims to use coal from this source to reduce its dependence on Australian coal, a company spokesperson tells Kallanish.
Asked about the outcome of the tests, the spokesman says: "No results are available to be shared in the public domain.”
In January-September India imported 33.05 million tonnes of coking coal, down -15% on-year, according to Indian commerce ministry data. Australia was by far the largest supplier with 22.95mt, followed by the US and Canada with 3.09mt and 2.3mt respectively. Russia supplied 1.01mt, up 75% on-year.
In November 2019 the Indian government met Russian representatives in New Delhi to discuss increasing supply of coking coal from Russia’s Far East to India (see Kallanish passim). Dharmendra Pradhan, Indian Minister for Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas, said then that diversifying coking coal sources is a priority for India’s steel industry.
Tata Steel said earlier this month that seaborne iron ore prices are expected to soften with an improvement in supply, while coking coal prices remain soft on import curbs by China amid political tensions with Australia. Tata Steel’s steel sales in India rose 22% on-year in the second fiscal quarter through September to 5.05mt, with production up 2% to 4.5mt.
Source:Kallanish
