The fortunes of Arki limestone mines in Himachal Pradesh are set to take a turn after 19 long years in limbo — thanks to steel minister Virbhadra Singh who belongs to the state. Ever since becoming the steel minister, Singh has been in favour of developing these mines, say sources in the ministry.

One of the biggest mining projects in the state, Arki is expected to provide employment to 2,000 people. Once the mining begins, the Himachal Pradesh government will get an annual royalty of Rs 11 crore.

National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), which got the mines 19 years ago but failed to start mining, will sign an MoU with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to develop the mines.

“We are planning to sign an MoU with SAIL to jointly develop the 200 million tonne high-grade limestone deposits. As of now, we envisage an investment of about Rs 200 crore,” NMDC chairman & managing director Rana Som told The Indian Express. Steel secretary Pramod Kumar Rastogi confirmed that the move was underway.

The tie-up with SAIL will give NMDC an assured buyer in the state itself as SAIL is planning to set up a steel processing plant in Kangra, approved by Singh’s predecessor Ram Vilas Paswan. The arrangement favours SAIL too — limestone is an essential ingredient in steel making, and its ready availability will help the public sector giant achieve the targeted production of 124 million tonnes by 2011-12.

NMDC already has an agreement with Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd to supply limestone to its cement plants. Similar agreements will be signed with other companies too. Just like iron ore, limestone too is extracted in the form of lumps and fines. While the lumps are used in steel plants, the cement producers buy limestone fines. NMDC has spent a lot of money in developing infrastructure in the mining area, and says it had been looking for assured buyers to lift the produce.