BANGALORE: Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) has identified an alternative mining site in the Bellary-Hospet belt in the State, where it proposes to invest around Rs. 500 crores.

KIOCL Chairman and Managing Director P. Ganesan told presspersons in the presence of Union Minister for Steel Ram Vilas Paswan here on Thursday that KIOCL is also entering into a joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd. to expand some of the latter's existing mines in Orissa.

Mining by the company at Kudremukh is allowed up to December this year in accordance with a Supreme Court verdict.

Company officials expressed confidence that the State Government would give its approval for the alternate site.

Dividend

KIOCL has posted profits for the 13th consecutive year, and Mr. Ganesan handed over a dividend of Rs. 128.77 crores to Mr. Paswan.

Mr. Paswan held a meeting of the Hindi Advisory Committee of his Ministry here on Thursday. On Wednesday he chaired a meeting of the consultative committee to discuss the future of KIOCL. The meeting agreed that the Supreme Court's judgment on ending operations at Kudremukh must be implemented faithfully.

Mr. Ganesan said KIOCL has appealed to the Supreme Court to be allowed to take some steps in the matter of slope stability and mine safety. KIOCL has been taking several short-term and long-term measures by way of procuring iron ore from Indian companies based abroad. Efforts are on to put up a new railway siding at Mangalore, where KIOCL has a pelletisation plant.

The company's turnover in 2004-05 was Rs. 1,854 crores, he said. The company produced 4.4 million tonnes of concentrate and 3.8 million tonnes of pellets during 2004-05. It exported 0.7 million tonnes of concentrate and 3.79 million tonnes of pellets. In the current year, the turnover until August has crossed Rs. 500 crores, he said.

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