The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) has resumed export of pellets after a hiatus of seven years, the first consignment leaving for China from the New Mangalore Port here on Saturday.
Describing the transformation of KIOCL into a value-added ore exporter, company chairman and managing director Malay Chatterjee said the Mini Rathna company had no captive mining blocks after it shut down its mines at Kudremukh in the Aravali range in the western ghats on a SC order in 2006.
Later, in 2011, it also stopped producing pellets. But due to sustained efforts, KIOCL started getting ore from the mines owned by National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) at Kanker in Chhattisgarh and began producing pellers this year.
The first export consignment is to the tune of 3 lakh tons. There was slight hitches in getting ore, as it had to be transported by railways from Chhattisgarh to Vishakapatnam on the eastern coast. The Distance-Based Charges levied by railways proved costlier. The ore now comes from Vishakapatnam to Mangalore port by ship.
“Indian ore commands a higher price in the world market at $162 per ton, at least $4-5 more than the ore extracted elsewhere in the world,” Chatterjee said.
“But our cost of production would come down if the state government would allot us ore deposit blocks in Chikkanayakanahalli and Ramanadurga in Karnataka where there was a deposit of 10 million tons of ore that could sustain the company for ten years. We have already approached the chief minister and he was positive about it,” Chatterjee said.
By reinventing itself, KIOCL has opened a new chapter in its 30-year existence. “The company is now looking forward to developing the township at Kudremukh range into a fine eco-tourism centre. As a first step, we have to clear all the heavy machinery stocked at the site. The old equipment was auctioned recently and fetched `227 crores. In addition, KIOCL has sought the permission of the mining department to mine out the ore fines deposited in Lakya dam at Kudremukh.
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