Odisha Mining says scraps joint venture with Rio Tinto

BHUBANESWAR/MUMBAI (Reuters) - State-owned Odisha Mining Corp has terminated its joint venture with global mining giant Rio Tinto in Odisha, a top company executive told Reuters on Wednesday, in a bid to focus its efforts on mining independently.

"We had done joint ventures with private companies in the past... but the progress has not been satisfactory," Managing Director SN Girish told Reuters.

Rio Tinto holds a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, which had proposed an integrated iron ore project with a production capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, Odisha Mining's website showed.

A Rio Tinto spokesman, however, said the company had not been advised of any change to its joint venture.

"If changes were proposed, we would need to consider our position at that time," the London-based spokesman said in an emailed response.

Odisha Mining has also issued notices to aluminium and copper producer Hindalco Industries Ltd and miner Sesa Sterlite Ltd regarding scrapping of its bauxite mining joint ventures with the two companies, Girish said.

He said the company would take a call on the two ventures after responses from both the companies.

Sesa Sterlite, part of London-listed miner Vedanta Resources Plc , and Hindalco did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Aman Shah in Mumbai; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)