Monday, June 06,
SAIL’s has proposed a consortium to bid for mines in Afghanistan which would comprise of half-a-dozen other big players, including public sector RINL and NMDC.
“We are in the process of choosing private sector partners and would like to take only three to four big companies,” said the SAIL Chairman, Mr C.S. Verma. This is apart from the three Government-owned firms SAIL, RINL and NMDC, he said.
The Hajigak iron ore deposits are located in Bamiyan province, some 130 km west of Kabul, and are estimated to contain 1.8 billion tonnes of haematite reserves. SAIL and 15 other Indian firms had been shortlisted by the Afghan Government to bid for the iron ore reserves.
Besides trying to forge a consortium, SAIL is also contemplating setting up 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) plant in Afghanistan, Mr Verma said.
“We may rope in a partner, but the plans are in very initial stages,” he added.
Afghanistan currently imports some 3-4 mtpa and SAIL proposes to tap the market that exists in the landlocked country. An overseas plant of 3 mtpa would require an investment of $3 billion, Mr Verma said.
Source: The Business Line
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