BHUBANESWAR: The Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) has emerged as the preferred bidder for the 248-million-tonne Karlapat bauxite block in Kalahandi district.
The Korba-headquartered subsidiary of Vedanta Ltd quoted a 175 per cent premium, the highest among the bidders.
Several leading metal companies were in the fray for the Karlapat block, which contains 165 million tonne of high-quality metallurgical-grade bauxite, making it suitable for aluminium production.
The live e-auction for the block was held on Thursday, with BALCO emerging as the highest bidder. The Directorate of Geology, Odisha, had invited bids for the mining block on May 29.
With this, Vedanta will have two bauxite mines in Odisha, the other being the Sijimali bauxite block in Rayagada district.
The aluminium major has already invested around Rs 1 lakh crore in Odisha through its aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda, one of the world’s largest, and the alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.
The company has also committed another Rs 1 lakh crore in the state to set up a 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) alumina refinery in Rayagada district, a 3 MTPA aluminium smelter in Dhenkanal district, green aluminium production using renewable energy and aluminium parks and downstream industries.
Spread over 1,822.61 hectare, the Karlapat bauxite block is expected to significantly strengthen Vedanta’s raw material security. Of the total concession area, 531.94 hectare is forest land, while only about 3.9 per cent is privately owned.
The block lies on the Karlapat Plateau, characterised by rugged terrain and numerous seasonal streams feeding the Sagoda and Bada Nala.
Meanwhile, Coal India Limited emerged as the preferred bidder for the Gadadharpur iron ore block in Barbil area of Keonjhar district after quoting a 114 per cent premium.
The 257.98-million-tonne block is a relatively small but high-grade iron ore deposit located in the mineral-rich Bonai–Keonjhar belt. Spread over 200.18 hectares, it contains 219.33 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore with more than 55 per cent Fe, out of the total resources estimated above the 45 per cent Fe cut-off.
The block is at the preliminary (G3) exploration stage, and the successful bidder will have to secure all statutory clearances before mining operations can commence.
