NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — State-owned NMDC Limited, India's largest iron ore producer, mined 5.04 million tonnes of iron ore in October 2026, up 18.03% from 4.27 million tonnes in October 2025, according to the company's provisional operational update filed with the stock exchanges on November 2 and reported by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). The growth came from both of its mining regions, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Source: SMM (Shanghai Metals Market)

Sales told a different story. NMDC sold 3.44 million tonnes in October, down 11.57% from 3.89 million tonnes a year earlier, the filing showed. The drop was concentrated in Chhattisgarh, where production rose to 3.36 million tonnes from 3.06 million tonnes but sales fell to 1.90 million tonnes from 2.77 million tonnes. Karnataka moved the other way on both counts: production rose to 1.68 million tonnes from 1.21 million tonnes, and sales increased to 1.54 million tonnes from 1.12 million tonnes.

Source: SMM (Shanghai Metals Market)

5.04 MTNMDC iron ore production, October 2026 — up 18.03% year on year (exchange filing via SMM)
3.44 MTOctober sales — down 11.57% year on year (exchange filing via SMM)
32.32 MTCumulative production, April–October 2026 — up 22.10% year on year (exchange filing via SMM)
25.67 MTCumulative sales, April–October 2026 — down 1.72% year on year (exchange filing via SMM)

For the first seven months of the financial year, cumulative production reached 32.32 million tonnes, up 22.10% from 26.47 million tonnes a year earlier, while cumulative sales slipped 1.72% to 25.67 million tonnes from 26.12 million tonnes, according to the filing. Chhattisgarh accounted for 22.28 million tonnes of the cumulative output and Karnataka for 10.04 million tonnes.

Source: NMDC exchange filing (via FlashFinance)

The widening gap between what NMDC digs and what it dispatches matters beyond the company: NMDC is the backbone supplier of iron ore to India's domestic steel industry, and ore left at pitheads in Chhattisgarh points to transport and evacuation constraints rather than weak mine output. The Hindu's November 4 edition also listed the October production rise among the day's significant economic developments, noting it came despite railway disruptions. The company did not, in the provisional update, explain the fall in Chhattisgarh dispatches; its next quarterly results will show whether the unsold ore converts into sales or keeps building up as inventory.

Source: SMM (Shanghai Metals Market)