Odisha Mining Auction: JSPL Bags Kasia Block at 118% Premium, ESL Wins Nadidih Mine

Bhubaneswar: The second day of the ongoing mines auction in Odisha saw ESL Steel Ltd winning Nadidih iron ore block BICO in Sundargarh district by committing to pay a premium of 95.6 per cent.

This means ESL will have to pay Rs 95 to the state government for sale/transaction of every Rs 100 of iron ore from the block.

Five companies were in the race for this block, official sources said.

The mineral block, spread over 73.85 hectares, is one of the oldest in Koira mining sector. It has been in operation since October 1967. Bonai Industrial Company Ltd (BICO), a company owned by MD Rustagi, was the leaseholder of the mining block till February 2020 when Goa-based Sociedade De Fomento Industrial Private Limited won the bid.

The state government would conduct the financial bid for Nadidih iron ore and manganese block (Feegrade) on Monday.

JSPL BAGS KASIA (BICO)

On Saturday, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) had bagged the Kasia iron ore at a premium of 118.1 per cent. Seven mining and metal platers, including JSPL, Essel Mining, Tata, Rungta, MSPL, ArcelorMittal and Electrosteel, had bid for this mining block, spread over 194.19 hectare with geological resources of 278.04 million tonne of iron ore (having an average Fe grade of 63.2 pc) and 0.693 mt of dolomite ore.

It was being operated by Essel Mining of the Aditya Birla group till March 2020.

The iron ore block would ensure JSPL’s long-term raw materials security to the 6MTPA steel plant at Angul. The leading Indian conglomerate also does not have to seek fresh environment clearance for the working block as per the recent amendment in the mining auction rules.

Also Read: Mining Auction Resumes, 7 Companies To Bid For Kasia Iron Ore & Dolomite Block

JSPL is the largest investor in the state in the iron and steel sector with an investment of more than Rs 45,000 crore. The steelmaker recently got clearance from the government for expansion of the existing steel plant to 25.2 MTPA by 2030 with an additional investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Notably, the bidding for 11 mineral blocks, for which Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) was issued on July 7, began on Saturday. Odisha has so far received 123 bids for the 11 mineral deposits. Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Adani, JSW, Tata Steel, ArcelorMittal, Essel Mining and Industries Limited, Rungta Mines Ltd, MSPL, Vedanta and NMDC are in the race, the sources said.

Of the blocks up for grabs, seven are iron ore blocks, two composite blocks of iron ore and manganese, one composite block of iron ore and dolomite and a bauxite block. Except for Nadidih (BICO), whose lease period expired before March 31, 2020, six blocks of Purheibahal, Chandiposhi, Jumka Pathriposhi Pahar, Dholtapahar, Netrabandha Pahar (West) and Gandhalpada are greenfield mines.

The other four are Kasia, having both iron ore and dolomite, Nadidih (Feegrade) and Teherai, which are composite iron ore and manganese blocks, and Karlapat, a bauxite mineral block.

The entire process is expected to be completed in 10 days following which lease deeds will be signed, the sources added.