Sesa Goa to buy 51% in Liberian iron ore mining firm for Rs 400 cr

Sesa Goa, a subsidiary of London-listed Vedanta Resources, announced it would buy a 51 per cent stake in Western Cluster Ltd (WCL), a Liberian iron ore mining company, in an all-cash deal of $90 million (Rs 400 crore).

WCL will develop the Western Cluster iron ore mining project, which covers mining of deposits and setting up transportation and shipping infrastructure for its export. The acquisition by Sesa Goa, India’s largest iron ore exporter, is subject to ratification by the West African nation’s legislature.

Western Cluster’s estimated reserve is a little over a billion tonnes of ore, close to the coast along the Mano river.

Sesa Goa managing director, P K Mukherjee, said the acquisition would help the company consolidate its iron ore business. “The project presents an excellent opportunity for developing a large integrated mining operation and establish our presence in Liberia and Africa," he added.

Western Cluster is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elenilto Minerals & Mining LLC, which operates iron ore, gold, copper and other mineral mines in Africa and Europe. Elenilto has about 100 exploration and mining licences over 10,000 sq km in Africa and Europe.

It had earlier emerged winner in a bid for development of the Western Cluster deposits, in a tender floated by the Liberian government.