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Journalism of Courage
A consortium of Indian public sector and private companies will compete with American,Canadian and Iranian companies to win the bid for the exploring the the prized Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan. The seven-member grouping,which has planned to set up a steel plant in the countrys Bamiyan province,now says a decision on doing so will depend on techno-economic feasibility and government approval for it.
The consortium led by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL),which includes National Mineral Development Corporation,Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited,JSW Steel JSW Ispat,JSPL and Monnet Ispat have put out the bid for all the four blocks of the Hajigak mines,having an estimated 1.8 million tonne of ore is located 130 km west of Kabul.
The five other bidders include ACATAC,LLC of the USA (3 blocks),Behin-Sanate Diba of Iran (4 blocks),Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore of Iran (1 block),Kilo Goldmines Limited of Canada (1 block) and Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd. of India (1 block).
Commenting on the bid,SAIL Chairman C S Verma said,This is the first time that Indian public and private sector companies have come together to jointly bid for an iron ore asset abroad. This will pave the way for more such collaborative efforts in the future by Indian companies for obtaining raw material assets in other countries.
As per the Request for Proposal (RFP) the total annual exploration expenditure over at least a three-year period will be $5 million or more. The bids will be evaluated on a host of criteria including the bidding companys credentials and benefits accruing to Afghanistan.
The Indian consortium has proposed to set up a steel plant there,the size of which would depend on the raw material quality and linkages,techno-economic viability and approval from the Government of India as may be required for investment by public sector companies.
