India: Ramalingam Construction bags Somanhalli iron ore mine in Karnataka auctions

The government of Karnataka organized an auction for the Somanhalli iron ore block on 20 March 2023. Ramalingam Construction Company Limited won the bid for this particular mine at a premium of 140.1% against the starting premium of 80.1%, informed sources.

According to data released by the government of Karnataka, the total area is 190.08 Ha for this block as per the geological report. There are 145.996 hectares (ha) of mineralized land and 44.134 ha of non-mineralized land.

As per the released data, the mine has 25.08 million tonnes (mnt) of hematite iron ore reserves of an average grade of Fe54.65%. That apart, there is 1.26 mnt of heamatitic silicious iron ore of an average grade of Fe39.13% out of the total geological resources of 26.34 mnt.

Earlier, SteelMint reported that around 25 companies had qualified for the next round of all the blocks of the Karnataka mine auctions, including companies such as JSW Steel, Vedanta, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries, etc.

These are the first iron ore mines in the state to be auctioned after the Centre removed the export duty on iron ore and pellets, and the Supreme Court allowed Karnataka's miners to sell iron ore directly.