NMDC plans to spend Rs.30,000 crore during the XII Plan to expand operations, including acquisitions within the country and abroad.
With reserves of Rs.18,000 crore now and planning to add Rs.5,000 crore in the near future, NMDC decided to use the cash pile for overseas purchase of iron ore and coking coal assets. It completed acquisition of 50 per cent equity in Legacy Iron Ore Limited of Australia and is confident that this buy will propel acquisition and development of mineral assets in Australia.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Chairman-cum-Managing Director in-charge N. K. Nanda said the reserves would be utilised for overseas acquisitions, expansion, production units and diversification. The company was closing in on acquisition of an iron ore asset close to the port in Brazil with an estimated billion tonne reserve.
Coking coal reserves of 50 million tonnes and 150 million tonnes, respectively, had been identified for acquisition in Russia and Mozambique while the rock phosphate asset being followed for some time, was now under due diligence process. “Once it is over, we may go ahead with the acquisition process,” he said.
The capital expenditure planned during the XII Plan included developing the existing mines, acquiring new ones and for establishing value addition plants for steel and other minerals.
NMDC was planning a 10 million tonnes pipeline for evacuation of iron ore from Bailadila to Visakhapatnam with a loop line of 2 million tonnes per annum capacity at Nagarnar to cater to the steel plant.
The pipeline would also help in increasing production of iron ore and supply to domestic consumers such as RINL and Essar Steel.
The company aggressively took up the proposal for steel plant in Karnataka in a 50:50 joint venture with Severstal of Russia. Discussions were under way with Tata Steel for a steel plant in Chhattisgarh where Tata Steel had land and mine.
As part of forward integration and value addition, a three million tonnes per annum steel plant was being set up at Nagarnar in Chhattisgarh.
