Jharkhand mine closure: SAIL says has stock for time being

Steel major SAIL today said it has sufficient iron ore stocks to sustain operations and there is no cause for worry even as Jharkhand has slapped closure notice on its four mines having 11 million tonne capacity.
"Steps required for expediting the approvals of renewals by the state government have been speeded up. We have stocks to sustain our plant operations for the time being and there is no cause for worry on this account," the state-run steel maker said in a statement today.
The Jharkhand government had on September 3 ordered 12 mines to stop operations as they were running under deemed extensions with second or subsequent renewals.

Of these, one belonged to Tata Steel and four to SAIL, located in the West Singbhum district of the state.
SAIL has four mines in the area and these mines produce cumulatively around 11 MT iron ore a year. All the five integrated steel mills of the company get supply from these mines.
Last fiscal, SAIL had produced around 25 MT iron ore from its seven captive mines, including these four.
The Jharkhnad government had also slapped closure notices on eight other mines including Tata Steel's Noamundi mine. Phone calls made to Tata Steel's spokesperson did not elicit any response. The company reportedly gets five million tonnes of iron ore from the mine.

These mines, according to Edelweiss, account for around 30 per cent and 25 per cent of total iron ore requirement of SAIL and Tata Steel (India), respectively.