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Monnet-Jindal-Tata JV wins Odisha’s Mandakini coal mine

Mandakini block alone would contribute Rs 18,712 crore. “Mandakini Exploration and Mining Ltd bids the highest,” tweeted Coal Secretary Anil Swarup. As per a spokesperson of Monnet Ispat, Mandakini Exploration is a joint venture between Monnet and Jindal Photo. As per officials, the bid closed at
Rs 650/tonne.

Bidding for Mandakini block, meant for the power sector and having one of the largest extractable reserves at 287.88 million tonne (MT), began at 11 am at Re 1 and continued till 7.35 pm with highest bid coming at Rs 650/tonne. The auction mode was reverse bidding for this mine.

Mandakini block was earlier alloted to Mandakini Coal Company Ltd - a JV led by Monnet Ispat & Energy and comprising Jindal Photo Lab and Tata Power Company. The companies in race for Mandakini mine on Thursday included Adani Power, Adani Power Maharashtra, GMR Mining and Energy, Jindal Power and Wigeon Commotrade.

Earlier in the day, Trimula Industries Ltd bagged Meral mine for non-power sector in Jharkhand quoting Rs 727/tonne which in turn will fetch the government Rs 921 crore.

“Meral coal block closes at (Rs) 727 (per tonne),” Coal Secretary Anil Swarup tweeted. Trimula bagged the mine by outbidding two companies -- Easternrange Coal Mining Pvt Ltd and Usha Martin Ltd. Meral mine, earlier alloted to Abhijeet Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, is in Palamau district of Jharkhand and has extractable reserves of 12.67 million tonnes. The amount of proceeds has been calculated based on extractable reserves and highest bid price. Both the mines were put on auction on the second day of the second tranche of bidding.

Adani Power, Usha Martin and JSW Steel bagged a total four mines in the second leg of auction that began on Thursday.

Under the second leg of auction, the government has put at least 15 blocks, which are under ready-for-production category. The auction proceeds from the first lot of 19 mines is over Rs one lakh crore. The auction follows the Supreme Court’s decision last year to cancel allocation of 204 coal mines. On account of Holi on Friday, there would be no auction of the mines.

But on March 7, three blocks — Tara (for power sector) and Nerad Malegaon and Dumri mines (for non- power sector) — would be on offer. The firms vying for Tara mine in Chhattisgarh are Adani Power, Adani Power Rajasthan, Adani Power Maharashtra, Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd,JSW Energy Ltd, KSK Mahanadi Power Co Ltd, Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd and RattanIndia Nasik Power Ltd.

SBICaps to make presentation on auction rules

SBI Capital Markets is scheduled to make a detailed presentation early next week before senior officials of the Centre and the states about proposed rules for auction of mines and bidding parameters for selection.

The government roped in the investment banker around 15 days after President Pranab Mukherjee promulgated the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2015, in the second week of January to suggest the rules for auction and bidding parameters.

The ordinance paved the way for introduction of the auctioning route for allocation of mines. “SBI Capital Markets will make a presentation about the salient features of proposed rules for implementing provision MMDR Amendment Ordinance, 2015 next Monday at the Quarterly meeting of the Coordination-cum-Empowered Committee (CEC),” a government official said.

The Ordinance, which has already been passed in Lok Sabha in the form of a Bill, prescribe the Centre to stipulate the terms and conditions and the procedures subject to which the auction would be conducted for allocation of all mines. The Centre is supposed to lay out the bidding parameters for the selection.
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