The Department of Steel and Mines, government of Odisha, will publish notice inviting tenders (NIT) for 16 iron ore blocks on 7 Jul’21, of which 10 are ore producing and it is expected that production will start by 8 Aug’21 from these. The information was revealed by Deepak Mohanty, Special Secretary, Department of Steel and Mines, government of Odisha, while speaking at the 10th India Minerals and Metals Forum, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on 29 Jun’21.
Mohanty said the Odisha government is also trying to bring the expired mines into operation. This is supposed to boost the supply of iron ore in the market and will alleviate any shortage by FY’22, he said. He also said that OMC has produced 12.4 million tonnes (mn t) in FY’20, 12.7 mn t in FY’21 and has a target of 30 mn t by FY’22 and 60 mn t by FY’26.
He informed that, despite the challenges faced in FY’21, the state went for auctioning of all the 24 mines that expired and as on date 19 have already started operations. Further, as of 28 Jun’21, Odisha’s iron ore production stood at 39.57 mn t against 17.61 mn t during the corresponding period in FY’21, implying a 224% rise.
“If we can retain this production, the mining sector in the state will only thrive and there will be no shortage of iron ore in the market,” he said.
Steel production in Odisha has gone up in FY’21 by 4.38%. Mohanty said there is a shortfall in the production of steel in the country but Odisha currently is on an increasing trend.
-Madhumita Mookerji
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