From doubling its iron ore output in five years to seeking more diamond mines in Madhya Pradesh as well as planning a joint venture foray in Vietnam for tungsten mines, NMDC Ltd is pursuing a multiple-pronged growth strategy.
Addressing presspersons at the company headquarters in Hyderabad, on the upcoming diamond jubilee year celebrations, chairman cum managing director N. Baijendra Kumar said the company plans to raise iron ore mining capacity by 19% to 67 million tonnes (mt) by 2022. In 2016-17, it had produced 34 mt, which compared to the previous fiscal was an increase of .
On the outlook for current fiscal, he said despite severe climatic problems and issues of logistics and infrastructure, the company was “doing well” and expected to outdo the FY17 production. NMDC, which last fiscal had a capital expenditure of ₹3,196 crore, planned to incur a capex of ₹3,500 crore in 2017-18. The company had reserves of about ₹5,600 crore and did not foresee any need for borrowings.
He said the company was also setting up a 3 MTPA steel plant in Nagarnar, Chattisgarh. With regard to diamond mining, he said the company was keen on expanding its presence in Panna, Madhya Pradesh. On the gold mining front, NMDC, which is a majority stakeholder in Legacy Mines in Australia, was evaluating the prospects in different countries.
‘Use in defence’
To queries on acquisition of a minority stake in a tungsten mine in Vietnam, Mr. Kumar said NMDC was likely to sign an MoU next month with Masan Resources, a leading natural resources firm in the southeast Asian country. Underscoring the significance of tungsten in defence applications, he said details regarding the investment were yet to be finalised.
NMDC had in October signed an agreement with Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. (Midhani) for tungsten ore mining and processing. India's tungsten requirement is 250-300 tonnes, he said.
