Indian consortium bids for Hajigak mines,finally

The announcement of preferred and reserved bidders is expected to be made by the Afghan mines ministry by October 4. The formation of a consortium had slimmed sometime ago,when Tata Steel cold-shouldered the idea and JSW Steel saying it would prefer a separate bid its entity-JSW Ispat for the mines. But SAIL somehow managed to stich together a syndicate for proceeding ahead with the bid.

The five other bidders include ACATAC,LLC of the USA (3 blocks),Behin-Sanate Diba of Iran (4 blocks),Gol-e-Gohar Iron Ore of Iran (1 block),Kilo Goldmines Limited of Canada (1 block) and Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd. of India (1 block).

Commenting on the bid,SAIL Chairman C S Verma said,“This is the first time that Indian public and private sector companies have come together to jointly bid for an iron ore asset abroad. This will pave the way for more such collaborative efforts in the future by Indian companies for obtaining raw material assets in other countries.”

As per the Request for Proposal (RFP) the total annual exploration expenditure over at least a three-year period will be $5 million or more. The bids will be evaluated on a host of criteria including the bidding company’s credentials and benefits accruing to Afghanistan.

The Indian consortium has proposed to set up a steel plant there,the size of which would depend on the raw material quality and linkages,techno-economic viability and approval from the Government of India as may be required for investment by public sector companies.