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Vedanta Sesa Goa, the iron ore producing arm of Vedanta Ltd, will look at expansion in its iron ore beneficiation plants as well as revival of its Bellary Steel plant.
“Across the value chain, we are looking at a possible expansion of the value added business (beneficiation of iron ore) in Goa as well as the Bellary Steel plant, which we acquired about four years back,” Vedanta Sesa Goa CEO Kishore Kumar told BusinessLine . The move is part of the company’s decision to achieve greater integration amongst its businesses, which comes as it continues to operate under capped conditions in Goa. The State government has allowed it to produce only 5.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of iron ore.
This was after the Supreme Court allowed iron ore mines to resume production in Goa last year but with a cap of 20 mtpa across the State.
Kumar said the cap will be reached by December, and this will force the company to shut operations unless the Goa government relaxes the limit. “We have requested the State government for some relief. There are some mines which have not yet come into production.
“There is about 3-4 mtpa of production that is stuck there. So the court imposed cap will anyway not be hit. What we have requested them is to allow us to mine some more, as the overall 20 mtpa cap is not being exhausted by the State,” he added.
The company further said it expects a positive decision from the State government. “About a month back, the Chief Minister (Laxmikant Parsekar) indicated that the State government will consider our request. But when it happens remains to be seen,” said Kumar.
As part of its overall integration plan, the company recently signed a concession agreement to modernise the Mormugao port in Goa.
It will invest ₹1,145 crore over the next five years to redevelop barge berths and give the port the capacity to handle 19.22 mtpa.
“From our perspective, we are looking at this as a long-term project. When Goa returns to about 40-50 mtpa production capacity, the infrastructure needs to be in place to export this.
“Therefore, the handling capacity of the port needs to be expanded and storage facilities are required. This is what we are planning to develop. We view this as a synergistic integration into our business,” said Kumar.
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