Wednesday, December 15,
Rio Tinto India is in talks with an Indian company to develop iron ore mines, a senior company official said, underscoring foreign interest in the industry despite social opposition and regulatory hassles.
“We are very keen to have iron ore operations in India,” Siddharth Jain, general manager of iron ore at Rio Tinto India, said on Monday.
Iron ore is a key raw material in steelmaking. Indian demand for steel is expected to grow in double digits. “We see the appetite for iron ore growing very strongly,” said Jain. “India can ramp up production of iron ore, the question is one of logistics.”
Rio Tinto is the world’s second-biggest iron ore producer. It holds a 51 percent stake in an iron ore project with the government of southeast India’s Orissa state and said it was in the final stages of renegotiating this agreement with Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).
The joint venture, which covers three deposits — Sakradihi Dubna, Malangtoli and Gandhamardan — will give it access to 3.6 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves in the state.
Speaking on the federal government’s new mining bill, under which the government wants miners to pay 26 percent of their net profit to displaced locals, Jain said: “The principle is understandable but it is the level being put out which is of concern.”
India’s metal and mining companies have found it difficult to expand to keep pace with rising demand owing to opposition from displaced locals, as well as the slow process for getting approvals and stringent environmental norms.
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