Odisha to auction two iron ore blocks in first phase.

Two iron ore blocks in Odisha would go under the hammer in the first phase. The blocks listed for auctions are Ghoraburahani-Sagasahi East block and Jhunka-Patriposi blocks with combined reserves of over 140 million tonne.

'The survey work has been completed in respect of 12 blocks- five iron ore, five limestone, one bauxite and one manganese block. In the first phase, two blocks would be put to auctions. The state government has engaged SBI Caps as the transaction advisor for conduct of auctions', state steel & mines minister Prafulla Mallick stated in a written reply to the state assembly.

The notification for mineral blocks auctions is expected to be issued shortly.

The auction platform is set to be provided by central PSU MSTC Ltd. SBI Capital Markets Ltd. (SBI Caps), a fully owned subsidiary of State Bank of India is the transaction advisor for conducting mineral auctions. The transaction advisor would assist the state government in fixing floor price for auctions.

To kickstart the auction process, the state government has already formed a committee under its development commissioner U N Behera. The committee's mandate is to monitor the preparatory work relating to auction of major mineral concessions including conduct of DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) survey and preparation of tender documents.

BS