The Hindu Business Line : Sesa Goa moves to increase third party mining

Kolkata, May 5 Sesa Goa has stepped up efforts to expand and add iron ore prospecting and mining leases as also increase third party mining opportunities.

Mr P.K. Mukherjee, Managing Director of Sesa Goa, told Business Line that the company was looking for additional mining leases in India and abroad, but declined to give specific details. He, however, said that Sesa Goa’s attempt at securing ore prospecting and mining lease in Jharkhand had not borne fruit so far. At present, it has mining leases in Goa, Karnataka and Orissa.

The company, the country’s largest private iron ore mining outfit, which began third party mining in 2007, has also decided to expand this operation by entering into fresh contracts with existing leaseholders in the country.

Expanding activities

After making a modest beginning in the second half of 2006, it achieved a steady increase in such activity. Now, the company is expanding it by undertaking turnkey contracts for iron ore mining operations on behalf of leaseholders for an annual production level of over 1 million tonnes in each lease.

The operations in leaseholders mines entail buying of the ores produced. According to Mr Mukherjee, the quantum of purchases varies and depends on terms of each individual long-term contract. Sesa Goa’s current ore purchase figures relate almost entirely to third party activity, the official explained.

Purchases

During 2007-08, the first full year of third party mining operations, Sesa Goa purchased iron ores worth Rs 237.04 crore. In the fourth quarter to March 31, 2008, such purchase was worth Rs 63.7 crore against Rs 63.99 crore in the first half of 2007-08 and Rs 56.41 crore in the fourth quarter of 2006-07.

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