Jindals seek to develop mines in Salem, Tiruvannamalai

Chennai: The Jindal group today reiterated its request for permission to develop iron ore mines in Salem and Tiruvannamalai to feed the steel units of Southern Iron and Steel Company Ltd (SISCOL). After taking over SISCOL in 2004 (SISCOL was promoted by the LMW group of Coimbatore), the Jindals have turned around the company and raised the plant’s capacity from 0.3 million tonnes a year to 1 million tonnes, investing Rs 1,350 crore for that. Now, the Jindals want to double the plant’s capacity, which will cost around Rs 3,000 crore. Mr Sajjan Jindal, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, JSW Steel Ltd, said at a press conference here today that this project would depend upon whether the group gets licence to mine iron ore or not.

Noting that the deposits at Salem and Tiruvannamalai contained low-grade ore, around 35 per cent iron content, Mr Jindal said that a beneficiation plant would need to be put up. The mining-cum-beneficiation project would cost Rs 400 crore, he said. (The beneficiation process would separate iron-holding minerals from the muck.) Mr J K Tandon, Chairman, SISCOL, said that there would be no issues relating to resettlement of people in these districts. Mr Jindal said that the JSW part of the Jindal group managed by him is willing to invest Rs 7,500 crore in Tamil Nadu.