India: 7 cos qualify in technical bid round for Gandhalpada iron ore block

The Odisha state government has started the second round of mineral block auctions with the announcement of technically qualified bidders. The companies which have cleared the technical round for Gandhalpada block are ArcelorMittal, Essel Mining, JSPL, MSPL, Rungta Mines, Shri Jagannath Steel and Tata Steel.

Sources informed SteelMint that there were seven technically qualified bidders for the Gandhalpada virgin iron ore mine with the highest bid being around 88.05% by Tata Steel. The highest initial price offer amongst the "technically qualified bidders" shall be the floor price for the second round of the e-auction.

The mine has an area of 241.1 Ha with explorations done up to G2 level. The mine has total geological resources of 314.37 mn t and average Fe at 60.48% .

The government has put 10 iron ore blocks under the hammer in this round. These include Nadidih BICO, Kasia, Gandhalpada, JumkaPatrishohi to name a few.

Electrosteel Steels has placed the highest bid for the Nadidih BICO iron ore block in Sunday's forward auction in Odisha at a premium of 95.6%. Also, JSPL, has bagged the Kasia iron ore block at a premium of 118.1%.

Odisha's Department of Steel and Mines expects to complete the auction process by Sept'21-end and after the current tranche of 11 mineral blocks, may auction another five blocks as composite leases. The Odisha government is expected to announce the technically qualified bidders for other mines gradually in the coming days.