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| Tatas get nod to re-bid for Liberian iron ore project |
| Ishita Ayan Dutt / Kolkata Dec 04, 2008, 00:39 IST |
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Firm cleared of ‘acts of violation’ charges.
Liberia, which in September disqualified Tata Steel from participating in a relaunched bidding round for a $1.5-billion iron ore project, has given approval to the Indian steel maker to participate in the auction process.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said the company has received an invitation from the Liberian government asking it to participate in the bidding process for the Western Cluster iron ore project .
On September 15, Liberia cancelled the award of the project to Tata Steel and Delta Mining Consolidated and barred the companies from participating in a fresh round of bidding after controversy erupted over the selection process.
Tata Steel was disqualified from rebidding on the grounds of “acts of violation” in the bidding held for the mines, which were given provisionally to Delta Mining Consolidated, a diversified mining and exploration group with operations in the South African Development Community (SADC) region.
The decision to award the mines to Delta Mining drew flak from all quarters as Tata Steel was rated favourably by the international consultancy Deloitte & Touche in its report to the government of Liberia, in terms of technical, financial and social commitment parameters.
However, when the government decided to start a rebid, it disqualified both Delta Mining and Tata Steel, citing “acts of violation” in the earlier bidding which may have been compromised by "external influence or impropriety".
The move to join the race for the Western Cluster iron ore deposit fits in with Tata Steel’s strategy of focusing on raw material security.
B Muthuraman, managing director, Tata Steel, said at a recent press conference that the company was looking to increase its share of captive raw materials through acquisition of assets.
The Tata Steel group with 28 million tonnes of capacity, has set a target of 40 per cent raw material security over the next three-five years.
Tata Steel recently picked up strategic interest in a Canadian iron ore project.
Last year, the company entered into a joint venture with Sodemi, a government-owned mineral development company in Africa, for development of Mount Nimba iron ore deposits in Ivory Coast. The iron ore from the project would be supplied to Corus facilities in the UK and the Netherlands. Tata Steel also has a greenfield steel project in Vietnam, which includes a 30 per cent stake Thach Khe Iron Ore joint stock company.
The joint stock company would undertake mining in Thach Khe iron ore mine.
The move to step up iron ore security had become imperative since prices soared last year till a couple of months back when all commodity prices crashed with the demand slowdown.
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