Stepping up pressure on the state government, JSPL has made a requisition for 2.7mnt of iron ore fines under a 2012 pre-emption policy the Odisha government is no longer implementing. Heaping praises on the “proactive, progressive and onward-looking policy” notified in 2014, after the Supreme Court refused the association of merchant miners a stay, the steelmaker wants it implemented.
In its letter to the Director of Mines, JSPL claimed it had immensely benefited by the policy under which it last procured material in June 2017. Attaching the requisite documents and sworn affidavit promising the material shall only be used at its plant within Odisha’s borders, and not resold, exported or diverted to outside the state. The steel and pellet maker wants 2.7 mnt of Iron ore fines of 62.5 % Fe for the quarter ending Sept 21. It’s also seeking this be charged, as per the policy, as per the average price published by IBM.
As SteelMint reported last month, pellet and sponge iron makers both in Odisha and Chhattisgarh are worried by the high iron prices have been pushing for the implementation of such policies. Secondary steel players meanwhile joined hands to publish a half-page advertisement in national papers appealing to the Prime Minister to restrict exports of iron ore by applying a similar 30 % duty (+ 58% Fe) to pellets.
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