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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Aug. 18 Global mining major Rio Tinto and public sector NMDC Ltd on Monday signed a MoU to explore mineral resources, particularly iron ore, globally, including India.

According to the understanding between the two companies, a joint working group will be set up to work out the modalities following which a 50:50 joint venture company would be floated.

Rio Tinto already has a joint venture with Orissa Mining Corporation, in which the foreign partner has a 51 per cent stake.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the Chairman and Managing Director of NMDC, Mr Rana Som, said, “We would be jointly scouting for mining resources in India and other parts of the world. The joint venture will be formed as soon as the first mine is identified and a special emphasis will be given to develop low-grade iron ore mines.”

The MoU will give NMDC access to the latest technologies available with Rio Tinto, Mr Som said.

The Managing Director and CFO (Iron Ore) of Rio Tinto, Mr Alan Davies, said, “Rio Tinto has long been a believer in India, both as a major market for iron ore and as a potential world-class source of production.”

The joint venture will also undertake exploration of minerals other than iron ore and the MoU does not restrict the partners from entering into similar agreement with other partners in the same domain.

NMDC is planning to set up a 0.5-million-tonne pig iron plant in Chhattisgarh with HIsmelt technology to be made available by Rio Tinto.

HIsmelt technology offers an alternative to the conventional blast furnace route and uses non-coking coal and low-grade iron ore fines. HIsmelt Corporation is a unit of Rio Tinto.

“We are in talks with HIsmelt Corporation to import the technology for using in Chhattisgarh,” Mr Som said.

NMDC will send about 10,000 tonnes of iron ore to HIsmelt Corporation next month for testing the potential of the technology’s usage under Indian conditions, he added.

A plant using HIsmelt technology needs lesser land area compared to an integrated steel plant using the blast furnace route and the time for commissioning is also less.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Mining & Quarrying

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