PSU mining company clocks its second-highest yearly output and record capex, exploration

MOIL Limited – the largest producer of manganese ore – has recorded its second-highest production since inception, registering 6 per cent growth over the previous year, according to official statement of the Ministry of Steel, which has administrative control of the public sector company.

The company has reported a production of 13.02 lakh tonnes of Manganese (Mn) Ore in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), while it has also achieved a 14 per cent higher capital expenditure of Rs 245 crore during the previous fiscal year, the statement released on Monday read.

Ajit Kumar Saxena, Chairman and Managing Director MOIL Limited expressed confidence that the state-run company is poised to achieve much higher levels of production in the coming years, with strategies and action plan for it firmly in place.

MOIL has carried out the best exploratory core drilling of 41,762 metres in FY23, which is 2.7 times of the average exploration achieved in the last 5 years with utmost thrust on exploration.

The same will not only form the basis of enhanced production from its existing mines but will also be the foundation of opening new Manganese mines in the country, the ministry said in its release.

While sales turnover of Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) reached a new high, which is more than 2 times than previous year.

EMD is a 100 per cent import substitution product, used mostly for pharmaceuticals and the manufacturing of batteries.

MOIL Limited is a schedule-A, Miniratna Category-I central public sector enterprise (CPSE), which contributes around 45 per cent of the domestic production of manganese ore.

The company operates eleven mines in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and has an ambition of doubling its production to 3 million tonnes by 2030. The producer of manganese ore is also exploring business opportunities in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. 

Shares of MOIL Limited gained over two per cent to Rs 145.8 per share on the BSE.