New Delhi, Sep 18 : India's largest manganese ore producer MOIL on Thursday said it has marked a significant milestone in exports from India with the dispatch of its first shipment of 54,600 tonnes of manganese ore fines from Visakhapatnam to Indonesia as a state trading enterprise (STE).

The government has appointed MOIL as a STE for export of Manganese (Mn) ore below 46 per cent Mn grade from India.

According to Steel Ministry, MOIL had put in place a mechanism in FY2024-2025 for export of Mn ore as per the Trade Policy, through which any exports of Mn ore from India are required to be routed through MOIL.

'The first consignment of the offered 54,600 tonnes Mn ore from Vizag was shipped on August 22, 2025 to Indonesia by MOIL. Material is exported to foreign buyers by MOIL with a back-to-back arrangement with the domestic suppliers,' said the ministry in a statement.

Export of low-grade manganese ore (Mn 25 per cent) from the country assumes major significance as India has surplus Mn ore of low-grade fines, in excess of domestic demand, and hence export of low-grade ore enhances India's global footprint and boosts foreign earning.

Ajit Kumar Saxena, CMD, congratulated the MOIL team for its first-ever export consignment of manganese ore as a State Trading Enterprise and emphasised on efficient operations and well-informed strategies to facilitate international trade.

MOIL recorded its highest-ever August production of 1.45 lakh tonnes during the month, registering an impressive 17 per cent growth over the same month last year.

On the sales front, the company also delivered strongly with 1.13 lakh tonnes of sales in August, reflecting a remarkable 25.6 per cent growth year-on-year compared to the same month of the previous year.

Further, during April'August 2025, MOIL recorded its best-ever performance with 7.92 lakh tonnes of production which represents a 9.3 per cent year-on-year increase.

The government-owned company, which supplies manganese ore as an input for making steel, also achieved its best-ever exploratory core drilling of 50,621 metres during April-August of the current financial year, which represents an 8.6 per cent increase over the same period of the previous year.

/IANS