Orissa Minerals Development Company Ltd, one of the oldest iron ore and manganese mining companies and a step-down subsidiary of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, has waged a legal battle to recover three of its mining leases in Odisha.

It has obtained a stay order from the Odisha High Court against the State Government’s move to take possession of three mines — Bagiaburu, Bhadrashi and Belkundi.

The State administration had rejected OMDC’s lease renewal applications for the three mines. OMDC has also moved appeals before the Mining Tribunal, under the Union Ministry of Mines, against the Odisha Government’s moves on the renewal issue. While two — Bagiaburu and Belkundi — were due for third renewals, Bhadrashi was to have a fourth renewal of the mining lease. 

OMDC was estimated to have 200 million tonnes of iron ore deposits and 44 million tonnes of manganese reserves.  It had recorded iron ore production levels of 3.18 million tonnes in 2003-04. Thereafter output gradually declined.

Its mines were inoperative when RINL took over in 2011 in the absence of regulatory permissions. The new management team has been trying to sort out all permission related issues to operationalise the company’s six mines in Odisha. However, it has met with little success.

Meanwhile, P. K Sinha, Director (Production & Planning), took over as the Managing Director last month.

 

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