JSW Steel bags Ganua iron ore mine, takes Odisha count to three

It already owns six iron ore mines in Karnataka, with a combined capacity of eight mn tonnes a year

Steel major JSW Steel today bagged its third iron ore mine Ganua at a 132 per cent premium on the sale value with a reserve of 118 million tonnes in the Odisha e-auction.

This is the third iron ore mine won by the company in the last few months. The other two are Nuagaon and Narayanposhi, also in Odisha, an industry source said.

The company already owns six iron ore mines in Karnataka, with a combined capacity of eight million tonnes per annum. These mines would cater to 35 per cent of JSW's raw material (iron ore) needs. Five of the six iron ore mines are in operation now.

JSW Steel is India’s leading integrated steel producer with an installed crude steel production capacity of about 18 million tonnes a year. To produce a tonne of steel, 1.5-1.6 tonnes of ore are needed.

The Nuagaon mine was the largest among those on the block in Odisha, with reserves of 790 million tonnes, higher than the combined reserves of all other mines on offer. The Narayanposhi block has reserves of 190 million tonnes.

Analysts said the captive mines will not only help the firm address supply crisis, especially from domestic suppliers, but will also meet the challenge of fluctating ore prices at ome and abroad.