The Odisha state government has started the second round of mineral block auctions with the announcement of technically qualified bidders currently in place. The government has put 10 iron ore blocks under the hammer in this round, which include Kasia, Gandhalpada, JumkaPatrishohi to name a few.
Sources informed SteelMint that there were seven technically qualified bidders for the Kasia iron ore and dolomite block with the highest bid being put at 95.6%. The highest initial price offer amongst the Technically Qualified Bidders shall be the floor price for the second round of the e-auction.
The companies which have cleared the technical round are Essel Mining, Tata Steel, Electrosteel, AM/NS India, Rungta Mines, MSPL and JSPL.
Essel Mining and Industries was the existing lessee of the Kasia iron and dolomite block. The mine has an area of 194.196 Ha with explorations done upto G1 level. The mine has total geological resources of 278.04 mn t of iron ore (having average Fe grade of 63.2%) and 0.693 mn t of dolomite ore.
Odisha’s Department of Steel and Mines expects to complete the auction process by Sept’21-end and after the current tranche of 11 mineral blocks, may auction another five blocks as composite leases. The Odisha government is expected to announce the technically qualified bidders for other mines gradually in the coming days.
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