Kudremukh Iron
Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) has made a total investment of Rs.
1500 crores at Kudremukh and Manglore facilities. The company
produced 54 lakh tonnes of concentrate and 32.15 lakh tonnes
of pellets during 2001-02 and exported 23 lakh tonnes of concentrates
and 32.11 lakh tonnes of pellets. The company earned US$ 150.88
million foreign exchange during the year and a net profit of
Rs. 88.37 crore.
The Supreme
Court has ordered that mining should be carried out in Kudremukh
by KIOCL only up to the end of 2005. In view of the court judgement,
the company has renewed its efforts to secure alternate mining
areas in Karnataka and Orissa. The company has identified the
Ramanadurg deposits in Bellary-Hospet region as the most suitable
alternate mining area. These deposits are spread over an area
of 6.5 Sq. miles and consist of estimated 210 million tonnes
of iron ore reserves. The company has already made a formal
application for grant of mining lease to the Govt. of Karnataka.
This information
was given by the Minister for Steel, Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy
in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
