Iron ore exports via Vizag port rise mom in April - Mjunction

STEEL PRODUCTS & PRICE TRENDICVL in final stages ofacquiring coal block inAustraliaISMWSAIL signs strategicMoU with Mongolianmines ministryISMWProgress on Indianprojects still slow:ArcelorMittalISMWInternational Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) has submitted a price bid to acquire acoking coal block in Australia, industry sources familiar with the developmenttold ISMW.“ICVL has identified the property and after due diligence has submitted aprice bid, which is slightly on the higher side,” the sources claimed.ISMW, however, could not obtain any further detail from the sources.ICVL is a joint venture company of set up by the mandate of governmentof India with SAIL, Coal India Ltd, RINL, NMDC and NTPC as its promotercompanies. The joint venture is actively scouting for coal assets in targetcountries such as Australia, New Zealand, Mozambique, Indonesia, Canada andUSA.Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Mineral Resource & Energy(MMRE) of the Government of Mongolia at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia forexploring business opportunities in the mining and steel sector.The MoU was signed by H.E. Balkhuu Bataa, Director (Mining & HeavyIndustry), Policy Dept., Govt. of Mongolia, on behalf of MMRE and RakeshKulshreshtha, SAIL Executive Director (Corporate Planning), in the presenceof SAIL chairman C.S. Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel U.P. Singh andother delegates from India and Mongolia.Verma said that SAIL is happy to be a partner in Mongolia’s economicdevelopment, and commended the Mongolian government for its initiatives indeveloping its mining sector, which will serve to be ‘’crucial drivers of FDI’’ for thecountry, while also meeting the mineral needs of India and other Asian economies.MMRE Vice-Minister Ms Ts Garamajav termed the MoU as a welcome stepin cooperation between the two countries and hoped that joint feasibility reportcould help Mongolia set up a mineral processing industry.As per the MoU, MMRE will provide information on iron ore and coaldeposits in Mongolia to SAIL and will offer options of locations and size ofsteel manufacturing facility for pre-feasibility study. A joint pre-feasibility studyfor setting up of mineral processing facility for iron ore and coal, both cokingand thermal, in Mongolia, and downstream steel making facilities for domesticconsumption and trade, will be taken up by MMRE and SAIL.SAIL, on the other hand, will select the best available technology to treatMongolian iron ore and coal deposits based on the feasibility study. The MoUenvisages exploration of opportunities for investments to be made by SAILeither individually or in a consortium with other entities to develop mineralprocessing/ steel manufacturing facility in Mongolia.ArcelorMittal’s chairman and CEO, Lakshmi Mittal, said he sees littleprospect of the company’s Indian projects making progress in the next fewyears. The projects are still receiving regulatory approvals, Mittal said, addingthat progress on the acquisition of land remains slow.According to media reports, Mittal had told shareholders at ArcelorMittal’sshareholders conference held recently that the company’s Indian projects mightnot be completed for five to 10 years.Contd. on next PgIndia Steel Market Watch 29May 23, 2012