Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has lined up nine more iron ore mines for auction sale by July, this year. The nine mines are located in Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts of the State.
The mines in Sundergarh are Chandiposi, Jhumka, Pathirighosi, Tholtapahada, Netrabandha Pahada and Pubeibahal iron ore mines. The mines in Keonjhar district are Unchabali iron ore and manganese, gandhalpada iron ore, Rengalbed North-East iron ore mines and Kalimati manganese mines.
The Central government has directed the mineral bearing States to identify at least 5 mines for their auction sale and subsequent operations.
The State government has prepared the papers for auction as per the Centre’s guidelines.
Last year, the State government had successfully auctioned 20 iron and manganese mines attracting investments from big players like Arcelor Mitral, JSW, Jindal Steel & Power.
Arcelor Mittal chairman LN Mittal had recently praised the Odisha government’s auction procedure stating that it had set an international benchmark.
