Donimalai Iron Ore Complex (Donimalai and Kumaraswamy pits): an iron ore operation in India

Donimalai Iron Ore Complex (Donimalai and Kumaraswamy pits) is an open-pit mine producing iron ore in Bellary district, Karnataka, India, operated by NMDC. The sources report 15,600 thousand tonnes, converted from "15.6 MT" as printed for FY2025-26 (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026); the basis is as reported by the operator. Measured as usable ore, whole-operation output for FY2025-26 (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026) is 15,600,000 tonnes: about 0.6% of world iron ore output in 2025 and about 5% of India's; it is one of 21 operations on this site whose output can be stated in usable ore.

Who owns and operates it?

Owners of Donimalai Iron Ore Complex (Donimalai and Kumaraswamy pits)
Owner	Interest	As of
NMDC (operator) NMDC states that it operates the complex; the report prints no ownership percentage for it. The President of India holds 60.79% of NMDC itself at 31 March 2026 (PDF p.186).	—	31 March 2026

Interests are as stated in the sources below on the date shown. Ownership changes with deals, so a stake may have changed since the date shown.

How much does it produce?

Reported output of Donimalai Iron Ore Complex (Donimalai and Kumaraswamy pits)
Period	Output	Basis	Where in the source
FY2025-26 (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026)	15,600 thousand tonnes, converted from "15.6 MT" as printed	as reported by the operator	PDF p.46, Strategic Outlook, Donimalai: raise process efficiency and reduce haulage dependence; also PDF p.154 · NMDC Limited

How the usable-ore figure is worked out. NMDC says the Donimalai complex produced 15.6 MT in FY2025-26 from the Donimalai and Kumaraswamy pits. The report rounds the figure to one decimal place and does not state wet or dry for this line; the company-wide production line is in wet metric tonnes. World mine production of usable ore in 2025 was 2,600,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); India produced 310,000,000 tonnes.

The period (FY2025-26 (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026)) is not the calendar year of the USGS totals (2025), so the shares are approximate.

Status: operating, as of 31 March 2026.

NMDC's report says the complex has a pellet plant at Donimalai and that an in-pit crushing and conveying system is being implemented there (PDF pp.46 and 154).

How does it compare?

Other iron ore operations on this site: Hamersley mines (Rio Tinto Pilbara), Hope Downs (Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting), Robe River - Robe Valley, Robe River - West Angelas, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 (SimFer), Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations, Iron Bridge (magnetite), Onslow Iron, Serra Sul (S11D), Carajas, Serra Norte, Carajas. In India: Bailadila (Kirandul and Bacheli complexes). See where iron ore comes from for the country totals, the country page for India, and NMDC for its other operations here.

Sources

NMDC Limited: Integrated Annual Report 2025-26 (annual report (disclosed 2026-09-06), FY2025-26 (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026)). Opened 4 November 2026; used: PDF pp.17, 46, 154, 160, 186; also PDF pp.184, 188, 199.
U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Iron Ore (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production of usable ore)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table, usable ore.

Method and limits

Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
Shares. A share divides output in usable ore by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
What is compared. Operators print tonnes of ore: saleable production for most, run-of-mine and pelletizing feed for Vale, and shipments for Fortescue and Onslow Iron, mostly as wet tonnes. The figure is compared with the USGS usable-ore total, which does not state a moisture basis, so the share is indicative.
Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every iron ore mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
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