India's Mining Industry Looks to Attract $22 Billion Foreign Investments

BANGALORE, INDIA--July 14, 2008--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--India's mining industry is looking to attract investments of about $22.4 billion by 2009 from international mining and exploration giants and financial investors. The market for mining and mineral-processing equipment in India is estimated at $5 billion for the next five years. Reliance Power Limited (BOM:532939) (Mumbai) is involved in projects to develop, own and operate captive coal mines, making it a significant user of state-of-the-art mining equipment and technology. On the supply side, Metso Minerals recently secured an $18 million contract from JSW Steel Limited (BOM:500228) (Mumbai) for a plant in Vijayanagar, and Leighton Holdings (ASX:LEI) (New South Wales, Australia) has signed a $600 million contract to develop and operate the open-cut Chitarpur coal mine in Jharkhand. Caterpillar Incorporated (NYSE:CAT) (Peoria, Illinois) and Vedanta Resources PLC (LSE:VED) (London) also have announced major investment plans to ramp up their operations in India.