Mumbai: Iron ore production in three central India mines have been disrupted following an attack by Maoist rebels on power lines in the region, an official of the National Mineral Development Corporation said.
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Export of iron ore would not be immediately affected, Kumar Raghavan, spokesman for state-run NMDC that owns the mines, said.

"The loss of production is about 60,000 tonnes per day," he said.

NMDC, which exports about 9 per cent of its output, has enough stockpiles at the ports but supplies will be a worry if the shutdown is prolonged, he said.

The stoppage was causing a daily loss of about Rs9 crore ($2.2 million), since the attack on May 31 in the Bastar region of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh, he said.

It could take another week to restore the power supply to the region, Raghavan said, adding the company would try to make up for the loss of production.

NMDC''s annual iron ore production is more than 25 million tonnes, and it accounts for about 15 per cent of iron ore production in India.

The disruption has stopped iron ore movement from the Bailadila mines to steel and sponge iron plants around Raipur, besides major customers, Raghavan said.

NMDC''s top customers include Ispat Industries, Rashtriya IspatNigam Ltd. and Vikram Ispat.

The majority of the company''s output is from Bailadila region, known for its reserves of top quality iron ore.