India's OMC to Develop 2.5 Million-Ton Daitari Iron Ore Mine

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) (Bhubaneswar, Orissa), which is wholly owned by the Orissa government will develop a 2.5 million-ton-per-year standalone iron ore mine in Daitari, in the iron ore-rich district of Keonjhar in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. OMC will adopt a contract mining model for development of the Daitari mine and will shortly invite bids from global investors for mine development and operations.

OMC has mining leases across 35 locations in Orissa. The major minerals mined by the company are chrome, iron ore and manganese. OMC has a reserve of 400 million tons of iron ore, 19 million tons of manganese, 28 million tons of chrome ore, 220 million ton of bauxite and 19 million ton of limestone. The corporation operates 11 iron ore mines, five chrome ore mines, three manganese mines and one limestone mine.

OMC currently produces 7.5 million tons of iron ore and 10 million tons of chrome ore per year. OMC has commitments to supply iron ore to 21 steel and 21 sponge iron making-companies. Similarly, OMC has committed to supply chrome ore to a steel company based in Orissa and 45 others outside the state.

Currently, OMC has a minor presence in the Daitari iron ore reserves, where it operates one mine, producing an average of 200,000 tons of iron ore per year. The new mine will be the company's largest producer in the region. The Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) has estimated the Daitari reserves to have 50 million tons of iron ore. OMC's proposed mine will be directly connected by railways to Paradip Port on the Bay of Bengal, 150 kilometers away.

The contract for development and operation of the mine will include design, engineering and installation of a standalone ore-handling plant with mechanized wagon loading and related railway infrastructure necessary to operate a 2.5 million-ton-per-year iron ore extraction project.

Critical to the mining project in Daitari will be the completion of the Daitari-Keojhar-Banspani rail link that will connect the mineral-rich regions of north Orissa and south Jharkhand to the Paradip Port and reduce the distance by 300 kilometers compared to existing railway connections.

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