The first shipment of iron ore from Goa has made its way onto the spot market Tuesday, weeks after the February 17 auction held by the Indian state, following an extended ban on ore exports.
Singapore-based trader Unicore Resources offered 70,000 mt of 54/54%-Fe fines at $85/dry mt CFR China, a company official told Platts. The cargo has about 6% alumina and 6.5% silica.
The cargo was aboard the vessel Jindal Varad, which departed Goa's Mormugao port April 3-4. The voyage from Goa to northern China takes around 17 days.
Goa's mines and geology directorate awarded 545,000 mt of iron ore in its first electronic auction, out of 15 million mt it has said it would sell from stockpiles at ports.
Since then, market participants have said that actual shipments have been delayed due to administrative complications, which have deterred potential buyers from submitting bids in the second round of auctions.
Goa was India's largest iron ore-exporting state before a mining ban came in force since September 2012, as the government sought to clamp down on illegal mining and environmental damage following complaints by the country's steel lobby.
