Vedanta iron ore production slides The blanket mining ban in India's southern state of Karnataka has continued to hit Vedanta Resources, the FTSE 100 metals, mining and oil group. Vedanta's iron ore production fell 11 per cent year-on-year during its fourth quarter to March 31 to 4.9m tonnes, as full-year production slid from 18.8m tonnes to 13.8m. The company, which is challenging the Karnataka mining ban at India's Supreme Court, managed to sell almost 1m tonnes of inventory during the second half of the year through a court-approved auction as the dispute continues. Vedanta blamed the Karnataka mining ban alongside a discontinuation of other iron ore operations in the Indian state of Orissa for the fall in production. Sales were also held up by transport and logistics bottlenecks in Goa. "We are expanding existing roads and establishing road corridors at Goa to reduce these bottlenecks," the company said on Tuesday as it released a production update following the end of its financial year. Disruptions through mining bans to iron ore output in India, the world's third-largest exporter of iron ore, have been followed by recent moves to quadruple export duties on the commodity which have threatened the margins of exporting miners. In spite of its iron ore problems, Vedanta ramped up production of mined zinc and lead metal by 7 per cent compared with the third quarter, with full-year output expected to be slightly higher than the previous year. Silver production by the diversified group also rose 77 per cent to a record 2.84m ounces in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, copper production across operations in India and Australia remained in line with the previous year's volumes, while output at its expanding site in Zambia edged ahead 5 per cent in the last quarter. Gross oil and gas production at its majority-owned Cairn India business also rose during the final quarter. Aluminium production rose 5 per cent compared with the previous year. No update was given on Vedanta's challenge to an Indian court decision to ban expansion of a bauxite mine on the Niyamgiri Hills in the state of Orissa. Campaigners say the plan to open a mine on a mountain that is sacred to the Dongria Kondh tribe threatens the future of an ancient people. Vedanta added that it expected to complete the consolidation of its interests in the current financial year. The company, which is controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, announced in February that it would pursue a merger of various subsidiaries as the next step of its founder's plan to build India's first global natural resources business. The newly constituted group will be formed through an all-share merger of iron ore miner Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries, a predominantly zinc, silver and copper producer. It is also planned to include Vedanta's holding in its oil arm Cairn India, bought last year for $9.6bn, creating a business with an implied market capitalisation of about $20bn. Shares in Vedanta, which have halved over the past year, opened down 44p at £11.91.