Indian private-sector steel producer JSW Steel was declared the preferred bidder for Block-VI of Cudnem-Cormolem and Block-IX of Surla-Sonshi iron ore mines in western India's Goa state on 9 June.

 

JSW offered the highest final price offer of 96.65pc of the value of mineral dispatched for Block-VI of Cudnem-Cormolem with estimated resources of 9.77mn t, and the highest final price offer of 109.80pc for Block-IX of Surla-Sonshi with estimated resources of 65.73mn t.

 

JSW Steel will obtain a letter of intent and all statutory clearances, execute the lease deed with mine development and production agreement, after which it will start mining operations, the company said.

 

Indian private-sector resources firm Vedanta was declared the preferred bidder for Block-VII of the Cudnem mineral block in Goa during the same auctions.

 

JSW had earlier this year won the Jaisinghpura south iron ore block located in Ballari, Karnataka and the unexplored Surjagad 4 iron ore mine in Maharashtra.

 

JSW aims to increase its captive iron ore sourcing in line with its capacity expansion plans at its Vijayanagar plant to 17mn t/yr from the current 12mn t/yr, and phase 2 expansion of its Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) plant from 3.5mn t/yr to 5mn t/yr, both of which are on track for completion by the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year. JSW operates a 10mn t/yr steel plant at Dolvi in the state of Maharashtra.