JSPL to begin iron ore exports from Bolivia in 2-3 months

Industrialist Naveen Jindal led Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) today said it will start iron ore exports from Bolivia's El Mutun mines in next 2-3 months.

"We will begin the exports in this calender year... In next 2-3 months, it will begin in smaller quantity," JSPL Vice Chairman and Managing Director Naveen Jindal told reporters here.

Considered as one of the world's single biggest iron-ore deposits, the El Mutun mines has reserves of more than 40 billion tonne and in 2007, the JSPL had entered into an agreement with the Bolivian government for its development.

The agreement included construction of a 1.7 million tonne per annum steel plant, a 6 million tonne per annum sponge iron plant and 10 million tonne per annum iron ore pellet plant, along with a 40-year contract to mine about half of the reserves of El Mutun iron ore mines.

The entire project is estimated to get an investment of about $2.1 billion.

Jindal added that "the quantum of iron ore exports from the Bolivian mines will be raised step by step to 10 million tonne per annum, as part of the development plan."

Talking about the steel plant, he said, "construction of the steel plant is on and it will be commissioned by 2014."

He was speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by All India Induction Furnaces Association.

Asked about the proposed Rs 7,000 crore IPO of the Jindal Power, a subsidiary of JSPL, Jindal merely said, "it will hit the markets some time during this calender year."

"The IPO has got delayed but we are not in any hurry... There are some internal factors and markets are also volatile. So we will just see the timing and do it," Jindal said, when asked about the reasons for the delay of Jindal Power's share sale plan.

The power arm of JSPL had earlier said it planned to hit the capital markets in March-April, 2011.

Scrips of JSPL were quoted today at Rs 661 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up 1.61% from the previous close.