Reuters reported that India's Supreme Court has put off until January 20 hearing an appeal against its partial ban of iron ore mining in a key producing state, possibly delaying resumption of full supplies from a region contributing a quarter of the country's exports.

Earlier this year, the court banned iron ore mining in three districts of southern Karnataka state citing environmental concerns and asked a federal government body to carry out an environmental impact assessment.

It later allowed state run NMDC to mine up to one million tonne per month from its captive mines in the state while making a final decision on the matter.

The federal government body, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education has reportedly recommended restricting iron ore mining in the state to 30 million tonnes per year for local consumption.

On Friday, the court asked petitioners against its ban to go through the ICFRE report and come back for a hearing on January 20. The court had banned mining in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.

(Sourced from Reuters)