As many as four companies have evinced interest in buying bauxite calcination plant run by state-owned mining major Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC). The plant having a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year is located in Kutch district.
The state PSU had floated tenders to sell this plant, which is in working condition, in September this year. "Four companies have shown interests in buying the plant from GMDC," said sources close to the development. While the plant is in working condition, it is not producing at optimum levels, making it financially unviable. The current output is 160 tonnes a day.
The companies interested in acquiring the plant also include Bombay Minerals, Ashapura Civil Constructions and Meena Agency.
GMDC is of the view that its core business is mining and not running, which is why it wants to sell its bauxite calcination plant along with associated equipment, diesel generating facility, accessories and spares. Set up in 1994, the plant has access to seven bauxite mines which collectively have around 70 lakh tonnes of reserves.
Sources say that these reserves are not being fully exploited owing to the plant's outdated technology.
Moreover, GMDC is carrying out exploration in Saurashtra districts of Porbandar, Jamnagar and Junagadh. The state PSU is likely to focus on mining more bauxite from these areas.
The Union government has approved its fresh mining plans of 700,000-800,000 tonnes of non-plant grade and 125,000 tonnes of plant-grade bauxite.
