BHUBANESWAR: As the auction of merchant mines whose lease period is expiring on March 31 is underway, Serajuddin and Company retained Balda iron ore block in the bidding that went past midnight on Monday. The company which has been operating the mines since 1962, offered a mind-boggling premium of 118.05 per cent of the sale value of ore.“Premium committed to pay by the highest bidder is the final price offer submitted is a percentage of value of mineral despatched in a month and sale price of the mineral (grade-wise) as published by Indian Bureau of Mines for such month of despatch,” sources in the mining industry said.
The new leaseholder will be required to pay royalty on the minerals (as decided by the Government from time to time) and other statutory dues, including District Mineral Foundation Fund (15 pc of the royalty) and another two pc of the royalty to National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) over and above the premium, the sources said.
The Balda block spread over 335.59 hectares has a mineralised area of 233.59 hectares with an estimated iron ore deposit of around 200.11 million tonne. The block has been explored to G-2 level and has a capacity to produce 15.5 million tonne iron ore a year. As many as 13 technically qualified bidders including Serajuddin & Co contested for the iron ore block. The other bidders are Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Essel Mining and Industries Ltd, Vedanta, Adani Enterprises, ArcelorMittal India Pvt Ltd, T S Alloys, Shyam Sel and Power, MSPL Ltd, Rungta Mines, Amalgam Steel and Power and Appaloft Merchants Pvt Ltd.
This the fourth out of the 19 merchant mines lined up for auction. Auction of Gorumahisani iron ore block in Mayurbhanj district has been deferred due to legal impediment. Bidding for Gonua iron ore block in Koira tehsil of Sundargarh district was going on till the report was filed. While 11 technically qualified bidders are competing for the block, the current leaseholder of the block PK Ahluwalia is not in the race.
Top industrial houses like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, ArcelorMittal India, Vedanta, Rungta Mines, KS Ahluwalia, Orissa Metaliks, Amalgam Steel and Power and Pro Minerals Pvt Ltd are in the final bidding.Earlier, ArcelorMittal India Pvt Ltd has bagged Thakurani iron ore block in Odisha. JSW Steel had bagged two iron ore mines with total reserves of 980 million tonne. It won Nuagaon mine and Narayanposhi iron block.