NMDC plans to acquire Russian mine

India’s largest iron ore producer and exporter, NMDC Ltd, is closing in on acquiring a coking coal mine in Russia, as the board is set to take a decision on it within 10 to 12 days.

“We are looking at a site, which is small but manageable. We have sent a team to Russia for due diligence and they will be back by tomorrow. Within 10 to 12 days, the board will take a view on this, after going through their presentation,” said Rana Som, chairman and managing director of NMDC, on the sidelines of an energy seminar here. The size of the mine, Winsin coal, is about 70 million tonne.

The company is also setting sight on a mine at Alabama in the United States. Som said the firm is looking for conducting a due diligence for the block. Th company was already looking to acquire 51 per cent stake in Russian firm Kolmar’s coking coal mine located in Siberia.

However, the Hyderabad-based Navratna company has made its first overseas acquisition recently by buying 50 per cent stake in Australian exploration company Legacy Iron Ore for Rs 92.2 crore

To strengthen Severstal tie up
The state-run company is planning to strengthen its tie up with Russian steel major Severstal. Som said the firm will convert a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Russian firm into a memorandum of association (MoA) with in a month. “They are saying that the coking coal mine which they have, will be transferred to a joint venture, against a reciprocal arrangement in respect of iron ore supplied by NMDC,” he said. Both the firms had signed a deal last year to set up a steel plant in Karnataka, at an investment of about Rs 25,000 crore.