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Following are excerpts from a report in english.chosun.com.

… After a rough start, POSCO is expected to finally have a site allocated for a planned steel mill in India, while an investment in a new Vietnam steel mill is likely to move ahead in October.

According to POSCO on Wednesday, the Indian government recently made it known that they plan to determine whether to give environmental clearance for the 4,004 acre site in Paradip in the province of Orissa.

Some 3,566 acres or 89.1 percent of the site of the planned one-stop steel system belongs to the government. Of that, 3,097 acres (86.9 percent) is forest land. For now, POSCO has only secured 193 acres (4.8 percent).

A POSCO official said, "The final decision has not yet been made, but we heard that the site might be released from the forest zone soon. The state-owned land accounts for nearly 90 percent of our site. In other words, if the area is released from the forest zone, the biggest obstacle to our effort to secure the site disappears."

Following is from a PIB.

The Minister of State for Coal Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply today that the exploration activity has established additional resources during Xth Plan period in several coalfields including Orissa and West Bengal. Giving details, he said during the period January, 2006 to March, 2007, 4080 million tonnes of new coal resources have been estimated in the country. As a result the inventory of Geological Resources of Coal in India, prepared by Geological Survey of India (GSI) has increased by 4080 mt as indicated below:

Dr. Rao further informed that out of the total addition of coal resources mentioned above 520 million tonnes have been estimated in the state of West Bengal and 1234 million tonnes in the state of Orissa.

The state-wise and coalfield-wise details of estimation of additional coal resources in blocks where exploration has been concluded during the period from January, 2006 to March, 2007 are given as under:-

The Minister added that based on the potential of the blocks revealed from regional exploration data the detailed exploration is under process in different blocks/areas.

Following are excerpts from a Telegraph report.

Chambal Infrastructure Ventures Limited — of the KK Birla group — today expressed interest in setting up a 2,000MW thermal power plant at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore.

H.S. Bawa, the managing director of Zuari Industries and senior vice-president of Chambal Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, made a presentation before chief minister Naveen Patnaik this evening regarding the matter. Bawa expressed the multinational’s interest in the project.

In fact, the firm has already applied for 2,000 acre near Siaria in Dhenkanal.

… It had also offered to set up a thermal power plant in a joint venture with PSUs.

The proposal’s appraisal would be made by the state-run Industrial Promotion and Investment Limited, which is a nodal agency for industrial projects.

In turn the agency examines projects before they are referred to a single window clearance committee, which is headed by the chief minister himself.

Meanwhile, the company has applied to the coal ministry for blocks. It has also applied to the water resources department to seek permission to use river water for plants.

If the proposal is cleared by the government, Chambal Infrastructure Venture Limited will be the 14th company to sign an MoU with Orissa government to set up a thermal power plant in Orissa.

Already 13 power companies have signed MoUs for setting up plants with a total capacity of 16,000MW and for am investment of Rs 70,000 crore.

Many have already acquired land and obtained environment clearance, as well as, permission for industrial water use.

Two to three firms have also been allotted coal blocks, Patro added.

Construction of power plants proposed to be set up by Vedanta Power Limited has already started in Jharsuguda.

Following are excerpts from a report in New Indian Express.

Granite resources abound in State, but the potential is untapped due to lack of promotion and absence of a clear-cut policy.

Orissa has about 20 different colours of granite. Out of the five most-attractive (recognised) colour granite of the world, four are available in Orissa, lavender blue in Berhampur, ikon brown in Paralakhemundi, sweat green in Titilagarh and black in Jeypore vicinity.

In Berhampur, Nayagarh, Paralakhemundi and Balangir, granites of international standard are abundantly available.

Skilled labourers too abundantly available in Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Balasore districts.

As Rajasthan is best known for its marble industry, Orissa can carve a niche for itself in granite sector if a little care is taken by the Government to streamline it, analysts feel.

The existing granite industries in Orissa should be assured by the Steel and Mines department to get the raw materials sufficiently on priority basis. At present, the mine owners, mostly outsiders, are supplying only mining wastes.

Since Orissa’s colour granite is very attractive, the granite processing units in Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are taking all quality raw blocks and selling that in the market after processing. In the absence of market linkage for finished products Orissa is losing out on revenue and scope for generating employment.

Traders have demanded that Government … open a granite park/growth centre in Berhampur. The rate of royalty on decorative stone block/granite stone block should be increased to Rs 1500 from the existing Rs 700 on the inter-state sales transactions. …

Following is an excerpt from a Hindu report.

The Central Government has given a coal block in Naini area of Orissa to the Union Territory of Puducherry to mine coal and produce electricity.

… the coal block approximately had 250 million tonnes of coal, which would last for 40 years.

Following are excerpts on this from a report in Pioneer.

The Centre has allocated coal blocks to three companies of the State. These three companies include Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC), Orissa Hydo Power Corporation (OHPC) and Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC). …

In Baitarani West Coal block, Centre has given the rights of exploration to OHPC, State Electricity Board of Kerala and Power Corporation of Gujurat. All of them have been allotted coal blocks to the tune of 200 million tonne. OPGC has got two coal blocks. It has got the Manoharpur and Manoharpur deep side coal block. It has got 532 million tonne of coals.

In the Utkal D- Coal block site, OMC has got 120 million tonne. It has also got 350 million tonne of coal blocks in the Telisahi coal block of Nuagaon.

Andhra Pradesh has also got the 350 million tonne of coal from this site. Mandakini Coal block has been distributed among the four States. Meghalaya and Assam are the important beneficiaries.

Following is Samaja’s report on this plan and what Orissa is asking in return.

Following are the main objections raised by the states Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka, as reported in various news papers. We give excerpts from the Economic Times report.

(i) The main objection of mineral-rich states pertains to control and use of iron ore resources. The state governments want it should be within their rights to offer minerals to companies that propose to set up steel industry within the states.

(ii) The final draft of the National Mineral Policy has said while states could have a system of preference for grant of mineral licences, they could not deny movement of minerals outside the states. “The amendments in Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act) should clarify this position,” a Orissa government source said.

(iii) The states are also against the provision in the policy that aims to curb their powers in case there is a delay in the grant of mineral lease to an applicant. It has also been suggested that existing provisions of the MMDR Act, which give states special powers in grant of mining leases, should be retained.

(iv) The states have also objected to continuation of iron ore exports and said there was no point in giving captive iron ore mines to companies having steel plants located in other states. The policy has said captive mines would be offered to steel companies on the basis of their existing capacities as in July 2006.

It has been reported that when the chief ministers of these states went to meet the GOM head Mr. Patil, he did not even show them the draft. This is contrary to the earlier report which mentioned that Mr. Patil would discuss the draft and get the consent from the chief ministers. How can one get a consent from a group on a draft without even showing the group what the draft contains?

Business standard reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

 The Thapar-owned Ballarpur Industries Ltd (Bilt) power outfit BILT Power proposes to set up a 1,200-Mw independent power plant (IPP) in Orissa at an investment of around Rs 6,000 crore.

… BILT Power is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government soon.

Funds for the project would be sourced through loans from banks and financial institutions (FIs), of which 70 per cent would be debt and 30 per cent would come in as promoters’ equity.

BILT Power Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anil Bhargava told Business Standard, “The detailed project report and feasibility study reports have already been submitted to the government. We are just awaiting the government nod to go ahead with the project.”

Bilt Power has already cleared the screening committee process for setting up the plant. Requirements for setting up the IPP has been forwarded to the state government.

The IPP is proposed to be set up in Choudwar on 950 acres. The Thapars already have paper production facilities in the state. They also have a captive power plant (CPP) at Sewa in Koraput district of the state.

Currently, BILT Power aggregates 100 Mw of CPP capacity at Sewa, Yamunanagar in Haryana and two plants each at Pune and Ballarshah in Maharashtra.

These plants have capacities between 25 Mw and 30 Mw each. Bilt Power has applied for allotment of coal blocks at Mandakini in the Talcher Coalfields of Orissa.

S Jagdev, head, corporate affairs, (eastern region), Bilt, said, “About 6 million tonne (MT) of coal would be required annually to feed the power plant.”

If they indeed listen to Orissa’s concerns, take them into account and get a consent on the new mining policy that would be really wonderful and a break from the past. If the UPA government continues like this (need to approve the more IIT and IIM plan and make railways more equitable) then it will be one of the most equitable government of India ever. The following excerpts from a Reuters report really gives hope.

India’s new mining policy is likely to approved by the cabinet within the next two months, the junior mines minister said on Thursday.

T. Subbirami Reddy said the head of a ministerial panel set up to examine the policy would meet the chief ministers of mineral-rich Jharkhand and Orissa to resolve differences before sending the policy for cabinet approval.

“Once they give their consent, we will take it to the cabinet. It will take between one to two months,” Reddy said.

The new policy is expected to help foreign and domestic firms invest in the exploration and mining of gold, diamonds and metals like copper and zinc.

The Hindu reports that environmental clearance has been granted to POSCO steel plant. POSCO has earmarked 1,525 crores for environmental pollution control as per the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) as well as the state government conditions. Excerpts:

“The Ministry of Environment and Forests has given the environmental clearance for Posco’s mega steel project at Kujang near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa,” highly-placed official sources said.The Korean steel giant had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Orissa government in June 2005 pledging an investment of Rs 52,000 crore for setting up the plant.

“The project authorities shall utilise Rs 1,525 crore earmarked for environmental pollution control measures judiciously to implement the conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) as well as the state government. The funds so provided shall not be diverted for any other purpose,” a source quoted the Environment and Forests Ministry as saying, while granting clearance.

The clearance has been granted to the world’s third largest steel manufacturer for installing furnaces using FINEX technology only and on the condition that gaseous emissions from its various units should strictly conform to load/mass based standards notified by the government.

Earlier in April, the MOEF had granted its approval under Coastal Regulation Zone to the Korean steel giant’s proposal to set up a captive port at Jatadhari at a cost of Rs 17,113 crore.”

Hindustan Times and others report on this. Following are some excerpts from the Hindustan Times report.

Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal’s global giant Arcelor Mittal is planning to advance the construction at its 10 million tonnes (MT) Orissa plant and hopes to begin initial construction by mid-2008, as against the earlier date of 2009. …

The first phase of Arcelor Mittal’s plant in Orissa, with a capacity of six million tonnes, is likely to be commissioned by 2011.

The company has appointed Dastur & Co to carry out a detailed project report and environment management plan for the two sites, which are currently underway. Chief Executive Officer of Mittal Steel India Ltd, Sanak Mishra, said that major construction work in the site will be taken up in 2009 and the company has finalised the product mix of the proposed plant for both long and flat products.

Economic times reports that Some Punjab based industries plan to invest in Orissa.
The reports state that Arti Steel has already invested 450 crore out of a total investment of 900 crores. The first step in Auto parts investment is being planned with GNA Axle.

Even Hero Honda , bicycle manufacturer plans to invest in Orissa. Hopefully, this will be the start of a trend. Excerpts:

“Orissa’s rich natural resources are now luring the industries in Punjab, with the an auto parts maker and steel manufacturer committing separate investments to the tune of Rs 960 crore to the state.

While Ludhiana-based Aarti Steels had committed an investment of Rs 900 crore for setting up a half-a-million capacity steel unit in the state, Goraya-based auto parts manufacturer GNA Axle Group will invest Rs 60 crore for manufacturing axle shafts, gears for heavy vehicles.

Leading bicyle maker Hero Cycles is also quite keen on exploring the possibility of making an investment in Orissa.

“We have proposed to invest Rs 60 crore within the next four years in order to set up an auto component manufacturing unit which will cater to export as well as domestic markets,” GNA Axle Group Director Randeep Singh said.

The Orissa government has promised to make available 100 acres of freehold land to the company at a token amount of Rs 2 lakh per acre. In addition to it, the government has also offered power at a rate of Rs 2.90 per unit without excise duty.

“We set up our unit in March 2003 in Orissa after carrying out a survey. The state can offer many benefits in the shape of availability of raw material for steel producing unit like us. So far, we have invested Rs 450 crore in this project while balance will be invested soon,” said Aarti Steels Director Rajeev Mittal.

The unit is is expected to be completed next year, he added.

“In Orissa, besides getting cheap power, we will also be in a position to get raw material at a much cheaper rate as we will be nearer to the source of raw material,” reasoned Singh while adding that with this new unit, our freight cost would also get reduced significantly for supplying our finished products to domestic as export markets.

Leading bicycle company Hero Cycles is also quite keen on exploring the possibility of making an investment in Orissa. “We will certainly explore the possibility of investing in that state which is full of natural resources,” Hero Cycles, Director Vijay Munjal said.

Recently, a high powered delegation including Commissioner-cum-secretary, Department of Industries, Orissa, was in Punjab for inviting industrialists to tap the investment opportunities here.“

Following is an excerpt from Deepika Global’s report on this.

(UNI) The National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), …, has achieved a net profit of Rs 446.66 crore for the first quarter ended June 2007.

According to the unaudited financial results for the 3-month period of the financial year 2007-08 taken on record in the Board of Directors meeting held in New Delhi today, the company achieved a net profit of Rs 446.66 crore, with a sales turnover of Rs.1287.12 crore.

However, during the first quarter of previous fiscal, the figures were up at Rs 622.30 crore and Rs 1620.82 crore respectively.

The company also achieved higher alumina production of 3,87,800 tonne compared to 3,58,100 tonne in the first quarter of the previous year.

Business standard reports that some of the betel cultivators have accepted POSCO’s compensation for these Betel farms.

Also, It must be noted, that these Betel cultivation was being done in Govt. enroached land. Currently out of 4004 acres required by POSCO, 3567 acres is Govt. land and 438 acres is pvt. land.

Excerpts:

In a major breakthrough in the imbroglio over land acquisition for Posco’s 12-million-tonne steel project near Paradip in Orissa, betel cultivators at Nuagaon village, within the project site, have dismantled their vineyards in lieu of compensation.

According to sources, four betel farm owners have accepted compensation to the tune of Rs 4.8 lakh, while 20 more who had surrendered their claim on betel vineyards are expected to be paid around Rs 15 lakh in a couple of days.

The farmers are being paid according to the rate fixed by the state government. Company sources said they had received about 200 applications from local farmers for payment of compensation for the surrender of their claim.

These were being verified and would be cleared in a phased manner, they added.

It may be noted that betel leaves are mostly cultivated over encroached government land in the proposed Posco plant area. There are about 1,600 betel farms in Nuagaon alone.

Posco required for its plant 4004 acres of land in three grampanchayats, namely Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gada Kujanga. Of this, 3567 acres is government land and 437 acres is private land. Most of the government land, however, is encroached upon by betel cultivators.

It may be noted that about 3,000 people working at the betel farms in Gadakujanga, Dhinkia and Nuagaon are among the most vocal opponents of the project as they fear loss of employment.

They have become soft targets for anti-Posco agitators. Keeping this in mind, the state government is framing a separate package for these workers, in addition to the existing rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy formulated last year.

According to state Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy, the stalemate over land acquisition is gradually giving way and people in the site area are coming out in support of the project.

Economic times reports that Mittal is more postive of the progress in Orissa for it’s steel plant.

Excerpts”

BHUBANESWAR: Arcelor-Mittal group CEO L N Mittal expressed his preference for the company’s proposed mega steel plant in Orissa over the one planned in Jharkhand, even as the Orissa government committed itself to provide requisite land and raw material for the greenfield project.If things go as planned, Mittal even indicated to CM Naveen Patnaik and senior government functionaries that the world’s largest steel company is keen to start leg work in January 2008.

“We are very happy with the pace of progress in Orissa. We would certainly prefer Orissa to Jharkhand considering the progress,” Mittal said, emerging from a 150-minute meeting with the CM and his team.

“We are all working hard towards starting the project as fast as possible,” he told reporters, without mentioning any deadline. The steel moghul said he was “very happy” with the way things have moved ever since the company signed an MoU with the state government in December 2006 for a 12 million tonne per annum steel plant in Keonjhar district.

“The Dastur co is preparing the detailed project report and it should be ready by mid-2008,” he said.

On the mines linkage, Mittal, who was accompanied by his son Aditya and Mittal-India CEO Sanak Mishra, said after the “very detailed discussions” with the CM, he was “very confident” about getting required access to mines. He added that he was “very optimistic” about effectively tackling rehabilitation and resettlement issues.

According to official sources, the steel monarch requested the state government to acquire at least a part of the 8,000-acre land earmarked for the project, especially the encroachment-free government land, so that the company could begin some “work on the ground early next year”. Mittal, the sources said, sought to know about the mining linkage and the government assured him full support without committing any specific mines.

In the last two days couple of press releases have come out from the Minister of Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan. The first one assures POSCO of all help and the second one assures Laxmi Mittal about his support for ore linkages for his proposed steel plants in Jharkhand and Orissa.

The Statesman reports on OMC’s turnover in Quarter 1. Following are some excerpts.

The Quarter-I (Q-1) turnover of Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) during 2007-08 has reached Rs 332.04 crore, which shows a rise of 68 per cent, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. In the corresponding period of last fiscal 2006-07, it was Rs 197.62 crore.
In the last fiscal, during 2006-07, the corporation’s turnover had crossed the four figure mark and pegged at a record of Rs 1,080 crore, with a profit of Rs 540 crore.

… The Q-1 turnovers of 2005-06 and 2004-05 were Rs 124.47 crore and Rs 117.61 crore respectively.

Equitybulls.com reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

Hindustan Dorr Oliver Ltd has announced that the Company has got an order from Vedanta Alumina Ltd valuing Rs 300 millions for Complete In-plant water circulation and distribution piping system and compressed air piping with accessories for their 5 million ton per annum Aluminium Smelter Plant at Jharsuguda, Orissa. Execution of the said project shall be completed by December, 2007.

The Company is already working alongwith its Chinese partner Chaileco in the above Jharsuguda refinery for a Fume Extraction Plant valuing Rs 2100 million.

Kalingatimes reports that Posco is definitely interested in the Orissa project.
Excerpts of the Article below

… The latest statement from the authorities of POSCO-India makes it clear that they were here to stay – to pursue their 12 million tonne per annum capacity steel mill project in Jagatsinghpur district.

…, the company has said in a statement that it was `confident, determined and committed’ to make its Orissa steel project happen. …

But the company has said that as per its human resource plan, overseas staff deployment in POSCO-India project was purely need based.

“Staff deployment is in relation to specific assignments and the employee moves with the changes in assignment. Accordingly, when the construction phase begins, there would be reallocation of staff from overseas in large number,” a statement from the company said.

Although there had been undue delay in the implementation of the project due to non-acquisition of land for the proposed steel plant, the company has announced it was hopeful of starting ground leveling work by December this year.

“The company is further encouraged by the support extended by Government of Orissa as well as Government of India for expediting the project,’ the statement said.

“Going by the recent developments, the company is happy to note that there is a greater understanding and wider consensus in favor of the project building up at all levels, notably among people in the project site.” …

If official sources are to be believed, … POSCO authorities were ready to wait for several more years to implement the project.

“The main worry of POSCO-India authorities would be over the day they were granted prospecting licence for the Khandadhar iron ore mines by the Central government.

As regards the people’s opposition to displacement by the proposed steel plant in Jagatsinghpur as well as the move to grant of prospecting licence to the company for Khandadhar mines, sources said that POSCO was used to such resistance.

“They are hopeful that things will slowly start changing and the opposition will lose strength in due course,” a senior government official observed.

Rehabilitation process begins

Meanwhile, the company, in association with the district administration, has started the process for rehabilitating 48 families that had left Patna village under Dhinkia panchayat of Jagatsinghpur following their differences with those who were against the setting up of the steel plant in their locality.

The company was hopeful that a transit camp for the 48 families would come up within four weeks. Simultaneously, efforts were being made to select a site for constructing a full-fledged rehabilitation colony for these families.

A company official said that once the habilitation colony was set up it would attract people from the camp that was opposed to the project.

The families which had come out of their villages on their own and were supporting the project would be given rehabilitation benefits under the provisions of the existing Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy of the State.

Going by the company’s stand, it appears clear that they might start thinking in terms of packing their bags only if the both the Central Government and the State Government expressed their unwillingness to extend help. But going by the eagerness on the part of both the governments to help POSCO-India, such a situation was unlikely to emerge in the next few years. After all, POSCO-India’s steel project still continues to carry the tag of biggest ever foreign direct investment in the country.

This sounds like a good reinforcement of it’s commitment to the Orissa project.

Business Standard reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

Canadian metal giant Alcan today announced an agreement to sell its 45 per cent stake in Utkal Alumina to the Aditya Birla group’s Hindalco Industries for an undisclosed sum.

The Utkal joint venture was established in 1992 between the Birlas and Alcan, with the Birlas owning the remaining 55 per cent of the equity. The venture involved the development of a new bauxite mine and alumina refinery in Orissa. …

“Alcan will have no surviving rights or obligations as Hindalco becomes the 100 per cent owner of the Utkal project,” it said. The Indian company expects the deal to be closed in the next 30 days. …

The project has been marred by controversy, with local residents opposing its construction on the plea that it will displace three villages and at least 200 families. Local critics have estimated that as many as 22,000 people could be affected. In December 2000, there was a clash between villagers and police in Maikanch over land acquisition. Three tribals were killed in the police firing that followed. Utkal was initially established as a joint venture between Hindalco, Alcan and Hydro Norsk. The shareholding was shared between Indal, now a part of Hindalco at 20 per cent; Alcan at 35 per cent and Norsk Hydro with 45 per cent. Norsk Hydro later sold its stake to the other two partners.

Market watch reports that POSCO expects to complete land acquisition by year end for it’s Orissa steel plant. Following is an excerpt.

‘Lee also said Posco expects to be able to secure all necessary land for its planned 12 million ton-a-year plant in Orissa, India, by the end of 2007, with construction projected to start in the first half of next year.
Posco is set to invest $12 billion to complete the plant by 2016. Orissa’s state government has so far allocated 1,135 acres of land to Posco, which has requested 4,000 acres. ‘

Other news to be seen is that it has had massive profits due to improved cost-savings from FINEX technology.

Financial express reports on this. Following are some excerpts.

‘We are planning to take up further exploration of mineral resources with a view to accessing the deposits of different ores’’, says … Padmanabha Behera. …

Geologists in the state believe that estimates of proven deposits are only the tip of the iceberg. …

As per the present estimation of the state directorate of geology, Orissa has 4,177 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore, 1,530 mt of bauxite, 60,983 mt of coal, 2,224 mt of limestone and 111 mt of chrome ore. …

The state government has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with 44 steel companies for an investment of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for built-up steel-making capacity of 74.66 mt. As many as 25 companies have gone in for production. Besides, 13 MoUs in the power sector, four in the aluminium sector have also been signed. …

Iron ore deposits have been explored up to 25 to 30 metre depth and the government is contemplating deeper exploration, he added.

J N Das, an expert on Orissa minerals, however, cautioned the state government that mining of iron ore below 25-30 metres would not be economically viable.

‘‘Oxidisation is the ultimate cause of the precipitation of iron oxides in the upper crust. Two rules which govern the fixation and mobilisation of iron in aqueous solution are: (1)oxidising conditions promote the precipitation of iron ore, reducing conditions promote the solution; (2)acid conditions generally promote the solution of iron, alkaline conditions and promote the precipitation of iron. Thus, iron ore is accumulated towards the surface. Iron ore is not expected below banded iron silica rocks (BHQ/BH)/Quartzite in a normal deposit cycle. Even if it occurs due to structural disturbances like folding etc., it can’t be mined economically for use in steel industries”, he says.

The government is also preparing a mining policy with emphasis on maximum value addition in the state, optimum use and conservation of minerals. The policy will also encourage further exploration of existing mines and ew deposits.

‘‘Once the Centre announces its mining policy on the basis of the Hoda Committee report, the state will put in place its first-ever mining policy’’, says the steel and mines minister.

The state is at present following the policy of value addition for recommending mining lease for companies. It is in favour of a ban on export of iron ore, which has touched 17 m.t out of the total production of 61 m.t in 2006-07.