RINL eyes Bird buyout to secure iron ore

State-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL) has sought acquiring Bird Group of Companies, including Orissa Mining Development Corporation, to secure iron ore reserves for expansion and said it was willing to invest Rs 500 crore to revamp OMDC's operations.

"We do not have captive mines and are forced to procure ore from the market at sky-high prices. So, we have proposed to take over the entire BCG, including OMDC, which has iron ore reserves of 130 million tonne to meet our growing production needs," P K Bishnoi, chairman & managing director, RINL told PTI.

He said steelmakers with iron ore security have a better turnover, while companies like his take a serious hit on their turnover. "I have to buy iron ore from the market at around Rs 3,000 per tonne, which is a pretty high price... RINL's profits could have been higher by Rs 1,000 crore, if we had captive mines," Bishnoi said.

A Parliamentary Consultative Committee had expressed concern about the need to ensure availability of critical raw materials like iron ore and coking coal to cater to both present as well as post-expansion needs of the steel PSUs. The Committee supported curbing iron ore exports. The government is yet to take a call on the Bagchi's Committee's recommendations on the BCG.

"The Committee's report is still under our consideration. We will take a decision in due course of time," a senior Steel Ministry official said, adding that RINL is in dire need of mines for executing its long-term plans. OMDC is not in good shape due to outdated machinery. Bishnoi assured that RINL was willing to invest about Rs 500 crore to overhaul OMDC's operations and pledged "RINL would not be found lacking if more money was required".