TATA Steel Mining inks lease deeds for Kamarda, Saruabil blocks

Tata Steel Mining Limited (TSML), formerly known as TS Alloys Ltd has successfully completed the mining lease execution for two leases namely Kamarda Chromite Mine and Saruabil Chromite Mine in Jajpur district in Odisha on June 26, 2020.

The agreements were formally signed by Ranjan Kumar Das, Jajpur collector and M C Thomas, Managing Director, Tata Steel Mining Limited at Jajpur.

These mines were auctioned by the Odisha government and the leases are granted for a period of 50 years. Among the commercial leases expired on Mar 31, 2020, and auctioned, these are the first leases to be converted into mining leases across India.

After becoming the highest bidder, the company was given a Vesting Order by the Odisha government in May 2020. TSML has completed all steps such as upfront payments, execution of Mine Development and Production Agreement (MDPA) as well as maintaining all other eligibility criteria. The Odisha Government, on its part, granted vesting order with all the clearances for two years as well as declared the company as a successful bidder before formally communicating the grant order enabling the lease for execution.

M C Thomas, Managing Director, TSML, said, “We thank the Government of Odisha for the exceptional support in processing these approvals in less than 30 days from the date of LOI. The coordinated efforts by various Odisha Government agencies led by the Department of Steel & Mines, District-Collector at Jajpur and other officials have made this possible in these unprecedented times. We consider this a significant milestone for Tata Steel Mining Limited. We are looking forward to embarking on this journey with the active support of the State of Odisha and all our stakeholders”.

As a responsible corporate, Tata Steel Mining is committed to excellence in governance and treats all its stakeholders as partners in long-term value creation.

TSML is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Steel Limited and is headquartered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The company is working to develop commercial mining opportunities in addition to ferro-alloys business.