Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd is in the process of becoming a partner with Odisha Government and NMDC Ltd in two projects -- one for mining iron ore and the other for a greenfield steel plant. RINL has been designated as the ‘lead player’ in these two Odisha projects.

Following up a proposal mooted by the Union Government, the public sector steel major was currently negotiating with Odisha Government and NMDC, said RINL CMD P Madhusudan here at an event, organised by MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

“We have had two rounds of talks so far. We are moving towards signing MoUs for the two projects, which would be driven by two different SPVs,” he said.

RINL CMD mentioned that the proposed SPV for mining will have Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd (OMC) as RINL’s partner along with NMDC.

In the SPV for the proposed steel plant, Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (IDCOL) will represent the State Government’s interest.

The Union Steel Ministry-conceived plan was mooted to create an equitable growth opportunity and enhancing steel making capacity in a State with mineral resources through active participation of the designated lead player.

RINL hoped to sign the MoU soon. “The MoU will spell out the capacity of the proposed steel making project. As the State agency, OMC will facilitate allocation of mines to the SPV,” Madhusudan said. IDCOL, as a partner, would take care of the land and the related linkages for the steel project, he indicated.

RINL CMD, however, said that these proposals have nothing to do with the mining assets of Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC), a step down subsidiary of RINL.

OMDC has six non-operational mines in Odisha. “We are separately trying to sort out issues involving OMDC mines,” Madhusudan explained.

RINL CMD further said in Rajashthan, RINL was moving ahead with a mining project. It has prepared mine plan for the 200 million tonne low grade (40-45 per cent iron content) iron ore project. The deposit is located in Banera tehsil in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.

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