AP Choudhary Chairman and Managing Director of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) said the firm was in the process of securing iron ore mine for its proposed 10-million-tonne (mn t) per annum beneficiation project.
Choudhary was speaking to reporters after the Steel Minister, Beni Prasad Verma, reviewed the company's performance for the first half.
The company proposes to set up a 10 mn t iron ore beneficiation and pellet plant at Bhilwara and it is in the last stage of executing formalities for securing mineral concession from the Rajasthan government, he said.
The firm expects to get the concession soon as the state government has recommended allotment of an iron ore mine to RINL at Bhilwara and the proposal is under active consideration of the mines ministry.
The estimated iron ore reserve at the Bhilwara mine is pegged at 320 mn t. Investments in the proposed beneficiation and pellet plant at Bhilwara are still being worked out. RINL, which is in the midst of expanding its capacity from 3 mn t a year to 6.2 mn t a year, depends mainly on another state-owned entity NMDC, for its raw material requirement.
RINL reported a seven per cent drop in revenues for the April-September 2012-13 period at Rs 5,789 crore, over corresponding last year's Rs 6,216.40 crore, on sluggish sales and lower steel prices.
