Financial Express, June 6, 2009
Bhubaneswar: London-based Vedanta Resources is expected to start bauxite mining from the Niyamgiri mines in Orissa’s Kalahandi district by August. The mining project has already received the environment and stage I forest clearances.
Vedanta Resources has set up a 1 million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district through its group company Vedanta Aluminium Ltd. It has also set up a 0.25 million tonne aluminium smelter along with a 675mw captive generating plant at Jharsuguda. Vedanta Resources has firmed up a joint venture company with Orissa government owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) through its group company Sterlite Industries (India ) Ltd for mining bauxites from the Niyamgiri mines. VAL will source the bauxite from the JV company.
“The mining operation is likely to be started in a month or two,” VAL vice-president (mines) Prasanna Panda told FE. “ Everything is ready. Once we get the stage II forest clearance, we will start the mining operation immediately.”
The Centre had accorded the stage I forest clearance in December, 2008, with 32 conditions besides 16 general stipulations. The aluminium company has already complied with the directives. It has also deposited Rs 121 crore with the state government for compensatory forestry and other forest management and peripheral development measures. The Centre on April 28, 2009 gave the environmental clearance to the mining project.
A state government official said the state is soon going to ask the Centre to give the stage II forest clearance to the project. The OMC has bauxite mines leasehold over an area of 721.323 hectares in the Niyamgiri forest. Out of this, 672.081 hectares are forest land and 49.305 hecatres wasteland. The Niyamgiri mines promises 76 million tonne of bauxite. The mining facility will have a capacity to raise 3 million tonne of bauxite per annum.
Meanwhile, Vedanta Resources is believed to be in talks with banks, including SBI, to raise Rs 10,000 crore debt to part fund the expansion of its aluminium project in Orissa.
Vedanta Aluminium, is talking to a syndicate of banks led by SBI for the debt, a source close to the development said. Vedanta Resources would not be a guarantor for the loan to be taken by VAL, he added.
When asked if VAL is in the process of raising Rs 10,000 crore debt and has roped in SBI as the lead manager, Sterlite Industries director finance Tarun Jain refused to comment.
As part of its expansion, VAL will augment the capacity of its alumina refinery to 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) from the present 1.4 MTPA while that of aluminium smelter to 1.75 MTPA from close to 0.7 MTPA. Vedanta Resources plans to pump in Rs 70,000 crore in India by 2011-12 for its aluminium, zinc, iron ore and copper projects. Of the proposed investment, the company has already invested about 50%.
Currently, VAL is running its Lanjigarh refinery with bauxites sourced from the market. The company is incurring losses to the tune of Rs 40 lakh per day because of the high cost of the raw material. Once the Niyamgiri mines becomes operational, VAL’s cost of bauxite will come down drastically, say industry sources.
Digging in
•The Centre had accorded the stage I forest clearance in December, 2008, with 32 conditions besides 16 general stipulations
•The aluminium company has already complied with the directives. It has also deposited Rs 121 crore with the state government for compensatory forestry and peripheral development measures
•A state government official said the state is soon going to ask the Centre to give the stage II forest clearance to the project
•The Centre on April 28, 2009 gave the environmental clearance to the mining project
No comments:
Post a Comment