Vedanta to get bauxite from Kodingamal mines: Minister

The State Government has decided to provide raw material linkage to Vedanta's alumina refinery project at Lanjigarh from the Kodingamali bauxite mines in Koraput district.

The state owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has got the mining lease of Kodingamali mines. The bauxite mines of OMC are spread over an area of 428.31 hectares in tribal dominated Koraput and Rayagada districts.

"We will provide bauxite to Vedanta from the OMC mines once production starts," Minister of State for Steel and Mines Prafulla Mallick told reporters here.

Vedanta requires over 3 million tonnes of bauxite to run the refinery at full capacity of one million tonne. The current availability of ore from domestic sources is about 1.5 million tonnes, sources said.

The company is running its refinery at Lanjigarh by importing bauxite from states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra since its inception.

Vedanta has been pleading for alternative bauxite mines after the Ministry of Environment and Forest rejected mining activities at Niyamgiri hills. The state government has not been able to meet its s raw material requirement due to which the company has threatened to shut down the plant.

Mallick said the state government has expedited the mines auction process. Five mines – four limestone mines and one manganese mines – will be auctioned by the end of August or September first week.