India-based JSW Steel, a subsidiary of JSW Group, has bagged its fourth iron ore mine in the ongoing auctions in Odisha.
The company emerged as the highest bidder for the Jajang iron ore block that holds estimated reserves of 39 million tonnes, fending off competition from JSPL, Adani, Serajuddin & Co, Lal Traders, Eastern Mining and, Rungta Mines, Orissa Post reported.
JSW Steel won Odisha’s largest iron ore block in the auction
JSW Steel acquired Odisha’s largest iron ore block, the Nuagaon mine, with estimated reserves of around 790 million tonnes (Mt) followed by Narayanposhi iron block with 190 MT reserves and Ganua iron ore mine with 118Mt reserves.
Competitors including Vedanta, Adani, ArcelorMittal, etc had placed bids in the auction.
With the four mines, an iron ore reserves linkage of over 1,100 million tonnes has been secured for JSW Steel which plans to set up a 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) steel plant with an investment of around Rs 53,000 crore in Odisha.
In October 2019, the Odisha government had cancelled three notices inviting tender (NIT) for auction of iron ore and manganese blocks citing conflicts between participating bidders.
Later, the government had released an NIT for 20 iron ore and manganese blocks on 6 December last year, the Press Trust of India reported.
Out of the 20 mines to be auctioned, 15 of them mainly consist of iron ore, three have both iron ore and manganese, while the remaining mines primarily contain manganese reserves.
Iron ore reserves at 18 of the total mines are estimated to be 1,600 million tonnes, with 33% of reserves being allocated for specified end-use.
Based in Mumbai, JSW Steel has a footprint in more than 140 countries. The current installed capacity of the company is 18mtpa, with plants in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The company had set up its first steel plant in 1982 at Vasind near Mumbai.
