Vedanta's iron ore sales down 86% in Q2

New Delhi, Oct 9: Vedanta Resources said on Tuesday that its iron ore sales fell by a whopping 86 per cent in the July-September quarter this fiscal as production dipped due to the mining ban in Karnataka for over a year now. Anil Agarwal-led company also recorded nine per cent decline in Indian zinc output to 1.9 lakh tonnes during the quarter, but average daily gross operated production of oil and gas was 207,245 barrels of oil equivalent, 22 per cent higher than the corresponding period.“Sales of iron ore were 2 LT in the second quarter and 31 LT in the first half, as compared with 16 LT and 58 LT in the corresponding prior periods, respectively,” it said in a statement.Vedanta said iron ore operations were affected by the mining ban in Karnataka, a temporary restriction on iron ore extraction in Goa, and transportation restrictions in South Goa during the monsoons.However, it added that it was hoping to commence mining in Karnataka, subject to the approval of the Supreme Court, in a mine with a provisional production capacity of 22.9 lakh tonnes per annum.Meanwhile, in a ruling on October 5, the Supreme Court had restricted any movement of ore from mines or stockyard in Goa, where Vedanta produced all its iron ore that were sold during the reporting quarter.“At our Liberia iron ore project, exploration activities are progressing well, with over 31,000 meters of drilling completed till 30 September 2012. We remain on track to deliver the first shipment in 2013-14,” it said.Of the total metal mined during the quarter, zinc output stood at 1.63 LT was zinc and the remaining 27,000 tons were lead.“In line with the mining plan and earlier guidance, mined metal production in FY'13 is expected to be slightly higher than the previous year, with production in H2 FY'13 more than making up for marginally lower production in H1 FY'13 against the corresponding prior period,” it said.The increase in oil and gas production was driven by the ramp-up at the Rajasthan block, which delivered a 37 per cent higher gross production of 171,801 bopd from four producing fields in the second quarter. This included gross production from the Mangala and Bhagyam fields of 148,908 bopd and 22,435 bopd, respectively.Vedanta said its Alumina production at Lanjigarh refinery was 205,000 tonnes in the second quarter, 10 per cent lower than the same period last year due to lower supply of third-party bauxite.“With reduced availability of third-party bauxite, we are evaluating various options including a temporary shut-down of refinery operations,” it added.