JSPL declared as preferred bidder for Kasia iron ore mine by Odisha govt

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) said on Thursday it has received official communication from the Odisha state government for grant of mining lease of the Kasia iron and dolomite mine.

The company has been declared as the preferred bidder for the mine at a premium of 118.1 per cent. The Kasia Mine has a large resource of 278 million tonnes of iron ore and consists of an average Fe grade of 62.5 per cent.

The mine has favourable lumps to the fine ratio of 20:80. It has an environmental clearance of 7.5 MTPA. The e-auction for Kasia iron and dolomite mineral block was held on September 18.

The Kasia iron ore mine was earlier owned and operated by Essel Mining and Industries Ltd.

JSPL can resume operations in a short period of time, enhancing backward integration for the company in the current financial year itself. This large and high-quality captive iron ore mine provides significant raw material security to JSPL.

The company has a current crude steel capacity of 9 MTPA and plans to expand the capacity to 16 MTPA by FY25.

"Kasia is a high Fe and low alumina mine which is located only 17 km away from our Barbil pellet plant," said Managing Director V R Sharma.

"Access to this large captive iron ore source, therefore, provides a massive strategic advantage to the company."

Sharma said the company already has plans to use a slurry pipeline from Barbil region to Angul which will further reduce the logistics cost.

"There will not be any significant capex requirement except for statutory payment as the mine was already operational," he said in a statement.

JSPL is a leading Indian Infrastructure conglomerate with a presence in steel, power and mining sectors.

With an investment of 12 billion dollars (about Rs 90,000 crore, the company is continuously scaling its capacity utilisation and efficiencies to contribute towards building a self-reliant India.

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