By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, October 2, 2019: The iron ore auctions in Odisha is all set to be very competitive with pellet manufacturers, sponge iron players, and pig iron producers joining steel companies for the bidding.

About 20 iron and manganese ore blocks- a mixture of merchant leases lapsing by March 31, 2020 and freehold blocks will be put up for auctions. The bid due dates are scheduled for November 18 and 28, 2019. Letters of intent to the preferred bidders are expected to be issued by January 2020, official sources said.

Taking cues from the Karnataka government, the state government has decided to include the secondary steel producers as well in the bidding process. About 50 per cent of Odisha’s steelmaking is through the secondary steel route.

Earlier, Odisha has put three iron ore blocks, Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi, Kalamang West and Netrabandh Pahar for auction. All three were bagged by steel producers, Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel Ltd (now Tata Steel BSL) and Bhushan Steel & Power Ltd.

Odisha recently has gone on fast track of the auctions process after getting the go-ahead from the Union mines ministry on hiking mining lease area cap to 58 square kilometres (sq km), up from 10 sq km prescribed in Mines and Minerals- Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act.

Prior to this, auctions of iron ore and other mineral virtually came to a standstill. Not a single mineral block could be auctioned in the state in FY19 as the matter related to mine lease area ceiling got enmeshed in litigation. The Delhi High Court had stalled auctions until clarity emerged on the eligibility for acquiring an additional mine by a lessee who already held in excess of 10 sq km.