Trading of Minerals

Iron ores

Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe₃O₄, 72.4% Fe), hematite (Fe₂O₃, 69.9% Fe), goethite (FeO(OH), 62.9% Fe), limonite (FeO(OH)·n(H₂O), 55% Fe) or siderite (FeCO₃, 48.2% Fe).

Production of iron ore in FY21 stood at 204.48 million tonnes. From April 2021- January 2022, iron ore production in India stood at 204 million tonnes (MT). In FY20, India had a total number of 878 steel plants producing crude steel. India’s crude steel production stood at 103 MT in FY21

Coking Coal

Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled to the demand for steel. Primary steelmaking companies often have a division that produces coal for coking, to ensure a stable and low-cost supply.

Non-coking coal

Non-Coking Coal does not have any caking properties and it is mainly used as thermal coal for power generation. It has a higher ash content and also used in industries like sponge making, cement, fertilizer, glass, ceramic, paper, chemical and brick manufacturing.

Limestone

Limestone is a common type of carbonate sedimentary rock that is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium.

Limestone has numerous uses: as a building material, an essential component of concrete (Portland cement), as aggregate for the base of roads, as white pigment or filler in products such as toothpaste or paints, as a chemical feedstock for the production of lime, as a soil conditioner, and as a popular decorative addition to rock gardens. Limestone formations contain about 30% of the world’s petroleum reservoirs.

Over three-fourths of the total limestone of India is produced by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

75 per cent Limestone is used in cement industry, 16 per cent in iron and steel industry and 4 per cent in the chemical industries.

Steel

Coke

Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content and few impurities, made by heating coal or oil in the absence of air—a destructive distillation process. It is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stoves and forges when air pollution is a concern.

The unqualified term “coke” usually refers to the product derived from low-ash and low-sulphur bituminous coal by a process called coking. A similar product called petroleum coke, or pet coke, is obtained from crude oil in oil refineries. Coke may also be formed naturally by geologic processes.

Soda Ash

Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, (also known as washing soda, soda ash, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as “soda ash”. It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process.

Soda Ash demand in India grew at a CAGR of 5.54% during 2013-2019 and is anticipated to achieve a healthy CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing the use of Soda Ash in dyes, coloring agents, synthetic detergents and fertilizers is anticipated to spur the demand for Soda Ash in India.