An environment ministry panel has accorded clearance to a captive iron ore mine project of state-run NMDC in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
The iron ore mine (Deposit 4) would cater to the requirement of NMDC's upcoming integrated steel plant in Chhattisgarh.
According to the minutes of the Expert Appraisal Committee (RAC) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 1,899.74 crore. The project is slated to come up at Nagarnar in Bastar district.
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A total of Rs 133.19 crore is allocated for environment protection measures and a recurring cost of about Rs 34.6 lakh has also been earmarked for it.
"The Committee (EAC) deliberated at length the information submitted by Project Proponent (NMDC) and recommended the proposal for environmental clearance. The committee recommended additional specific conditions..." the EAC said.
The extracted ore would also be supplied to other steel industries in the state, depending on the needs.
NMDC is in the process of setting up a three million tonnes per annum steel plant in Nagarnar. The plant is expected to start trial production by mid-2017, a senior official of the state-owned miner told PTI.
As per the detailed exploration done by NMDC, the Deposit-4 has "mineable reserves" of up to 107.59 million tonnes.
NMDC-CMDC Limited - a joint venture between NMDC and Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation - was incorporated in 2008 with equity ratio of 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively for the development of Bailadila Deposit no: 4.
The mining plan approval for a production capacity of seven million tonnes per annum has been obtained from Indian Bureau of Mines in 2013 and life of the mine will be 21 years, the EAC said.
