Finally, the State Government has decided to put to auction two iron ore mines, Ghoraburahani-Sagarsahi East Block and Jhumka-Pathiriposi Block, in Sundargarh district to meet the iron ore shortage being faced by various steel plants.
With iron ore prices declining in national and international markets, the Government is moving cautiously by deciding to dispose of 14 mining leases under the new MMDR Act through the auction route.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday cleared Steel and Mines Department proposal for auction of the two iron ore blocks by appointing SBI Capital Markets as transaction advisor and the MSTC as the auction platform.
The Ghoraburanhani-Sagarsahi East Block spread over 2.435 square km has 116.16 million tonnes of iron ore reserve and the Jhumka-Pathiriposi Block covering 3.10 sq km has 30 MT iron ore reserve, said official sources.
The Government has decided to facilitate early commencement of auction process by availing services of the SBI Capital Markets and the MSTC with which the Union Mines has already signed agreement. As per the agreement the two institutions would take up auction process for six iron ore blocks, two each in Odisha, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.