The Orissa government has said it was considering a proposal of making a fresh agreement with Australian mining giant Rio Tinto for undertaking mining activities in the state.

This was stated by state steel and mines minister Mr Raghunath Mohanty yesterday while replying to a question in the Assembly.

Rio Tinto, which had signed an agreement with the state owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for exploration of minerals in 1995, however failed to implement the project about a decade ago due to slump in the international market.

A joint venture company in the name of Rio Tinto Orissa Mineral (RTOM) was formed for exploration of 15 million ton iron ore per annum from Gandhamardan and Malangtoli mines, Mr Mohanty said.

As the agreement with Rio Tinto had become defunct, the OMC had moved the Orissa High Court to wind up the RTOM.

However, there had been no progress as the matter was subjudice in the HC, the minister said. “We are considering whether to sign a fresh agreement with Rio Tinto,” the minister said.

Though the state government through OMC had challenged Rio Tinto’s non—implementation of the earlier agreement in the High Court, it was considering a proposal to explore iron ore in order to feed the upcoming steel plants in the state.

However, this time, the new agreement was likely to change the earlier provision of exporting 50 per cent of the iron ore. “If there is a fresh agreement, we will ensure that the OMC—Rio Tinto joint venture meets the domestic demands before exporting the iron ore,” a senior official at the department said.

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