The two companies signed a deal on 24 February 1995 to develop the Gandhamardhan and Malangtoli iron ore deposits located in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts in the state of Odisha, India.
The deposits have a capacity to produce 25 million tonnes of coal a year with Rio Tinto seeking to export half of the mined iron ore, which was opposed by OMC, in order to supply domestic steel industries.
Following the disagreement, a legal battle ensued, wherein the OMC lobbied the Odisha High Court in 2003 to cancel the deal.
Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh now seeks to open fresh talks with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Chief Secretary BK Patnaik on the issue on 19/20 October 2012, reported the Business Standard.
Walsh will be visiting the state with the Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese for the Oz Fest Indigenous Cultural Concert in Bhubaneswar.
