AP extends manganese ore lease to RINL for Garbham mine till 2032

Raw Material Woes Ease

♦ OMDC’s Belkundi Iron and Manganese Ore Block holds huge potential

♦ RINL faces challenges in sourcing iron ore and coal

♦ RINL chairman thanks AP CM for manganese lease extension

♦ Steel Executives’ Association hails public hearing for OMDC mining

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh Government extended manganese ore mining lease to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in Garbham area of neighbouring Vizianagaram district.

The leaseholding, which expired long ago, will be valid up to 2032. The Department of Industries & Commerce vide GO Ms. No. 44 dated August 13, 2024 directed the Commissioner and the Director of Mines and Geology to take the required steps in this regard. The lease area of Garbham Managense Mine is 654 acres and the annual consumption by RINL is about 6,000 tonnes. Manganese is used in blast furnaces for producing hot metal. The lease extension which was a result of collaborative effort underscores the importance of strong partnerships between industry and government in driving economic progress.

In a significant development, the Odisha Government held a public hearing for granting permission to mine iron ore by Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC) raising hopes on sourcing of the raw material for RINL from Odisha.

RINL, a Navratna company, in a bid to strengthen its raw material security, had invested Rs 361 crore in 2010 to gain strategic control over Eastern Investments Ltd (EIL), part of Bird Group of Companies to make OMDC a subsidiary. The plan backfired with legal disputes forcing RINL to pay a penalty for mining guideline violations before it picked up stake in the EIL. Subsequently, mining of iron ore could also not be allowed.

“RINL is a major steel manufacturer which is deprived of captive iron ore and coal mines forcing it to cough up a heavy amount towards sourcing the raw material from NMDC, SAIL and others,” D Adinarayana, national vice-president of AITUC and recognised union leader of RINL, told Bizz Buzz.

Meanwhile, reacting on renewal of manganese mining lease at Garbham, RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Atul Bhatt thanked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, whom he met earlier. Thanking him profusely for his visionary leadership in extending the lease of the Garbham Manganese Mine to RINL, he said, “This extension is a significant milestone for RINL, ensuring the sustained availability of manganese ore for the production requirement.”

Meanwhile, Steel Executives’ Association (SEA), the officers’ body of RINL employees, described the public hearing held for resuming operations at Bekundi Iron & Manganese Mines of OMDC as successful.

SEA president Katam SS Chandra Rao and general secretary KVD Prasad said as per details submitted the OMDC officials, the Balkundi Iron and Manganese Mines public hearing held on Saturday evening was successful and described it as a milestone after several years of efforts to remove the impasse failing till recently.

They said RINL owns 51 per cent stake in EIL (Eastern Investment Ltd) and has ownership rights. EIL has a 51 per cent stake in OMDC. Thus, RINL has a maximum stake of 26 per cent in OMDC.

The largest mine among mines owned by OMDC are the Belkundi Iron and Manganese Ore Block at Barbil in Keonjhar district of Odisha covering an area of about 1276 hectares, it has a production capacity of 1.8 million tonne per annum.