Lloyds finally gets nod to sell iron ore outside Maharashtra

NAGPUR: Fifteen years after it got the first licence to mine iron ore in Gadchiroli, Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited has now secured permission to sell the mineral even outside Maharashtra. So far, the company was not allowed to sell the ore extracted from Surjagarh mines in Gadchiroli outside the state.
The company was granted a mining licence in 2007. At that time, the state government had included the restrictive clause as well.
However, the company has maintained that the restriction was not only bad in law but had also affected the project’s growth in Gadchiroli. It was argued that unless it is able to cater to demands all over the country, the mining project at Surjagarh cannot be taken to a sizeable level, also creating more jobs, said sources.
The clause not only restricted the mining development in Maharashtra, but also affected the nation-wide availability of iron ore — a key natural resource. Restricting availability of iron ore can also have its impact in steel prices, said sources explaining about the stance put up by the company.
This clause was finally removed over 20 days ago by the state government. This not only allows the company the freedom to sell the ore outside the state, but also export it, said sources.
Lloyds has a sponge iron plant at Ghugus in Chandrapur district. The iron ore reserves available at the Surjagarh mines are much more than what is required for the Ghugus plant. The company is also working on setting up another sponge iron plant at Kondseri in Gadchiroli district. Yet there is enough scope for selling the ore outside the state, said sources.
The Kondseri plant will be started with an initial capacity of 180 tonne a day. This is according to the maximum levels for which an environmental clearance can be taken from the state government. The central clearance, which takes longer period, would be taken eventually to expand the project, sourced said.
The Surjagarh mines has a total capacity of 30 million tonnes a year. So far, the mining has been minimal. Over the years, only close to a quarter of the total capacity has been extracted cumulatively.
In 2020, Odisha’s Thriveni Earthmovers Ltd took a stake in Lloyds, also taking over the mining project at Surjagarh. The work that was stalled earlier has taken off after that. Before this, the operations were limited to surface mining. Excavation has also been started now.
Last month, the company held a public programme in Surjagarh in which appointment letters were handed over to the locals.