Better demand to aid NMDC's fortunes

NMDC Ltd's shares have gained 6% in the last three days. This comes on the back of approval of lower royalty rates by the Union Cabinet for mining three minerals lithium, niobium and rare earth elements -as the government prepares for the auction of these mines.

- Vineetha Sampath

Now, while NMDC does not have a presence in these minerals, it holds a prospecting license to carry exploration activities for lithium reserves in Karnataka.

But this is just a sentiment booster and potential contribution to NMDC's earnings will play out only in the long run. In any case, there has been improvement in NMDC's outlook.

The state-owned iron ore producer raised lump ore and fines price for the second consecutive month in October by 5-6% to ₹5,200 and ₹4,460 per tonne, respectively.