NMDC gearing up gold mining in AP

The Navratna company is obtaining a mining lease to start operations in Chigargunta-Bisanatham Gold Mine Block in Chittoor district bordering Tamil Nadu. The mining area of this Gold Block is expected to contain a reserve of 1.83 Mt

Visakhapatnam: Mining major NMDC has geared up to foray into gold mining in Andhra Pradesh for the first time in India after emerging as the country's largest iron ore producer and 10th largest in the world.

The public sector company with its head office in Hyderabad under the administrative control of Ministry of Mining was incorporated in 1958 and had emerged as the successful bidder in the auctions conducted for gold mining lease in Chittoor district of AP in 1918 pushing behind big players like Adani, Vedanta, and Rungta Group. The mining area of Chigargunta-Bisanatham Gold Block is expected to contain a reserve of 1.83 Mt. NMDC is said to be planning to invest around Rs 450 crore in phases.

In a tweet, company's Chairman and Managing Director Sumit Deb said that they are obtaining a mining lease to start operations in Chigargunta-Bisanatham Gold Mine Block in Chittoor district bordering Tamil Nadu.

His tweet stated "NMDC takes the first step for obtaining Mining Lease and executing the ML deed to start the mining operations at Chigargunta-Bisanatham Gold Mine Block in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh."

He said "NMDC strikes gold with the Chigargunta-Bisanatham Gold Mine block! This is a first of its kind for @nmdclimited in terms of leveraging its expertise for a multi-mineral outlook and underground mining operations as well."

A NMDC official told Bizz Buzz that their initiative will strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat (Make in India Mission).

NMDC recently established a three million tonne integrated steel plant at Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. The company boasts of owning South-East Asia's only mechanised diamond mining site Panna of Madhya Pradesh.

The Navratna company is into production of copper, rock phosphate, manganese, limestone and beach minerals. It is one among few low-cost iron ore producer in the world in a mechanised environment. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, is dependent to meet most of its iron ore requirement from Bailadila mines of NMDC.