India’s Ministry of Mines granted National Mineral Corporation (NMDC) permission to increase mining capacity to 10mn mt/yr from 7mn mt/yr at its Kumaraswamy iron ore mine in Karnataka.
The permission covers output for a two-year period, 2020-22, after which it will be reviewed again.
NMDC achieved record iron ore production of 32.36mn mt and sales of 32.36mn mt in 2018, as per the company’s annual report. NMDC’s annual iron ore production capacity is 43mn mt with a domestic market share of 24pc. It plans to increase annual production capacity to 67mn mt by 2025, to meet domestic steel demand.
In Chhattisgarh, NMDC is setting up an integrated steel plant of 3mn mt installed capacity, which is expected to start production in FY 2021. On Dec 17, NMDC received approval from the Government of Chhattisgarh for the extension of four mining leases in Balidala.