India: OMC applies for expanding Guali iron ore mine capacity to 30 mn t/year

One of India's leading iron ore producers, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), has applied to the Union Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) for expanding the annual production capacity of the company's Guali iron ore mine in Odisha to 30 mn t per annum.

Backdrop

Guali had been won by steel major JSPL at the 2020 minerals auctions in Odisha at a 144% premium. However, due to the long delay in commencement of production from the mine, the government finally allotted it to OMC for a period of 10 years. The government has also allotted the Jilling-Langalota iron ore mine, alongside Guali in Odisha's Joda mining circle, to OMC.

Notably, the two mines contributed around 700,000 t to OMC's total iron ore production in Apr'21 that stood at 1.8 mn t. Increasing volumes from Guali as well as Jilling are being offered at periodic OMC iron ore auctions, as per SteelMint reports.

Capacity boost

The Guali mine - put under the hammer after the termination of R.P. Sao's lease - covers 358.258 ha in Odisha's Keonjhar district and was reserved for OMC in Jan'21. The present EC limit is 5.7 mn t.

OMC has written to the MoEFCC for prompt grant of Terms of Reference (ToF) based on which the all-important environment impact assessment of the mine would be conducted, as per government notification accessed by SteelMint.

At 13.3 mn t, OMC's iron ore production witnessed a straight 7% growth vis-a-vis FY'20 production of 12.38 mn t.