SAIL eyes iron ore mine in Karnataka

With iron ore requirement set to rise following completion of on-going expansion, SAIL has set sights on a 140-hectare mine in Karnataka and has initiated talks with the state government for early allocation.

"SAIL is pursuing the matter with Karnataka government for expediting the process of granting the iron ore mining lease for 140 hectares of area in North-Eastern Block range in Bellary district of Karnataka," a source said.

"Iron ore from the mine will be used to feed Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) at Bhadravathi," the source added.

Among the eight mountain ranges in Bellary district where iron and manganese ores are available, North Eastern Block is one of them. Others are like Donimalai, Ettinahatti and Kumaraswamy.

"SAIL does not have any iron ore mine in the southern state. The mine has 10 million tonnes of reserves which will be exclusively used for the VISL, Bhadravathi," the source said.

The mine would provide the state-run firm some additional cushion to its already existing position on the iron ore front. SAIL's plants get all their iron ore needs from captive sources and even after completion of the ongoing Rs 61,870 crore expansions, it would not have to depend on markets.

SAIL has 14 million tonne per annum (mtpa) steel-making capacity now and it is set to go up to 23.46 mtpa by 2015-16.

Meanwhile, the company is investing over Rs 10,000 crore to increase iron ore production capacity of its mines at Gua, Bolani, Kiribaru and Meghahatuburu to 42.81 mtpa by 2015-16 from 27.86 mtpa now.

SAIL, which is the second largest iron ore miner in the country following NMDC, produced about 21.48 mt of the key raw material for making steel in 2012-13.

As the company expands its steel-making capacity to 23.46 mtpa, annual requirement of iron ore of the company would also go up to 39 mtpa.