Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio |
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Corporate
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Outlook Industry & Economy - Mining & Quarrying Kudremukh expects to begin mining at CN-halli soon Pratim Ranjan Bose Kolkata, June 24 Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) hopes to start mining operations at Chikkanayakana-halli (better known as CN-halli) in one and a half years. The mine is expected to produce 1 million tonnes of ore annually out of a total requirement of 3.5 million tonne pellets plant, according to the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Mr K. Ranganath. According to him, following reserves allocation by the Centre, the Government of Karnataka has awarded the mining lease to KIOCL for 116.55 hectares in Humbalghatta in Tumkur district. The deposit is estimated to have a mineable reserve of 10 million tonnes. “We are already in possession of the mining lease for CN-halli. We are hopeful to complete the residual procedure to initiate the operations in one and a half years,” Mr Ranganath told Business Line. The development of Ramandurga deposit allocated to KIOCL and NMDC jointly may take some more time to develop. Once a major exporter of iron ore, KIOCL had lost its backward linkage with the closure of its sole iron ore mining operation at Kudremukh in Karnataka, a few years ago, due to environmental concerns. The company is currently sourcing its entire ore requirement from NMDC through a long-term contract. Though the arrangement squeezed the margins of KIOCL, Mr Ranganath says that the long term contract has safeguarded the company from the volatility in the ore prices. “We are rather facing trouble in sourcing coking coal,” he adds. Kuremukh Iron Ore currently consumes 2 lakh tonnes of primary coking coal. The consumption is projected to increase up to 4 lakh tonnes. KIOCL intends to participate in coal ventures. Having spent much of his professional life — till joining KIOCL in May this year — in the coal sector, Mr Ranganath is, therefore, aiming for a long-term solution for coking coal. “We want to throw our hat into the ring for a stake in Coal Ventures International,” he said. CVI is a SPV of Coal India, SAIL, Vizag Steel, NTPC and NMDC for acquiring metallurgical and thermal coal assets abroad. More Stories on : Outlook | Mining & Quarrying
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