This piece from Reuters caught my attention last month:
“India urging firms to acquire overseas iron ore, coking coal assets, official says”
The brief: India, the world’s second-largest steel producer, is looking to boost its steelmaking capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, up from about 200 million tonnes.
The country’s steelmaking firms are on notice; they must secure the raw materials needed to accelerate India’s steelmaking ambitions.
You can read the full piece here.
Mining Memo’s Take
While the West obsesses over securing supply chains of critical minerals, like Rare Earths, Copper, and Antimony… India is going back to basics.
The country is doubling down on steel production, and to do that, it must secure basic industrial raw materials.
So, what does that mean for Aussie miners?
India has rapidly ascended to become the world’s second-largest steel producer.
But it’s still a long way from the number one spot, held firmly by China.
Last year, China produced around one billion tonnes of steel, five times more than India.
So, while India remains a minnow compared to China, its output growth could soon explode:
As the article outlines, India wants to boost steel production by 50% in just five years.
Investors should pay attention to what’s happening here, especially when officials talk of ‘buying up’ companies in the steel-making supply chain.
So, will that lift Aussie iron ore miners?
Perhaps a little.
But it’s important to realise that a steel production surge in India will look far different from the early 2000s China-fuelled boom. As you know, the main game was iron ore stocks back then.
Yet, India is already a major producer of this raw material, which limits the upside for iron ore miners in Australia.
For that reason, COKING COAL could be the main game this time around.
Coking coal: The key ingredient in steel making, which India doesn’t have
Why does coking coal matter so much for a country looking to ramp up steel production?
Well, it lies in the workings of how steel is made…
In fact, the whole process starts with coking coal, which is heated to very high temperatures, turning it into a near-pure carbon product called coke.
Coke is then burned in a furnace with iron ore to achieve extremely high temperatures, creating a liquid metal that removes oxygen from the iron ore.
Ultimately, coking coal is the key ingredient that strengthens steel.
But unlike iron ore, India imports the majority of its coking coal, a whopping 85%.
That’s one reason I issued a strategic BUY alert to my premium membership group two weeks ago.
An ASX junior looking to build a major coking coal project.
A project that happens to sit between the world’s two largest steel-producing nations, India and China.
Although the stock price has fallen heavily in 2025, its fortunes could turn rapidly given India’s recent announcements.
Indian steel firms are on notice.
Government officials in India have directed their steel makers to buy up international assets and secure the country’s steel-making supply chain.
Our latest recommendation fits this opportunity perfectly. But it comes with an additional bonus…
This ASX-listed junior holds a specific type of ‘rare’ coking coal that improves steel-making efficiency and lowers steel makers’ costs.
This means it holds a premium product in the heart of global steelmaking. This could be a valuable asset over the coming years.
If you’d like to find out more, you can do so here.
Regards,
 |
James Cooper,
Editor, Mining: Phase One and Diggers and Drillers
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