MOIL to raise ore production

Manganese Ore India (MOIL) will invest about Rs 350 crore during the ongoing five-year plan period to ramp up its production capacity to 15 lakh tonnes in the next five years, according to a top official.

"We will invest about Rs 350 crore during this period to increase our production to 15 lakh tonnes and will strive to become a Rs 1,500-crore company by 2010," Chairman and Managing Director K L Mehrotra said.

The company, which enjoys Miniratna-1 status and registered a profit before tax of Rs 311.12 crore during April to December this year, on Thursday paid a dividend of Rs 29.69 crore to the government, which holds 81.57 per cent in it.

MOIL achieved a turnover of Rs Rs 491.90 crore during April-December period as against Rs 294.63 crore in the same period previous financial year. Its net profit shot up by 156 per cent to Rs 205.50 crore during as against Rs 80.18 crore in the same period previous year.

The state-run company is executing various capacity-expansion projects simultaneously, including a 5 mw wind farm in Madhya Pradesh, and a five-lakh tonne beneficiation plant at Balaghat.

Besides, it has tied up with SAIL to produce ferro alloys at the steel giant's Bhilai plant at a capital outlay of Rs 225 crore.

The joint venture company alongwith SAIL would be incorporated with a debt-equity ratio of 1:1, Mehrotra said.

Besides, MOIL was also planning to set up a sintering plant at Balaghat at a cost of Rs 18 crore.