Bhubaneswar:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday said the state has the potential to emerge as a global hub in steel, aluminium and other mining industries.
Patnaik was speaking after inaugurating two iron ore mines at Guali and Jilling in Keonjhar district along with Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi in virtualmode.
These two mines were allocated to the state owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).
Patnaik said he is hopeful that the quick operationalisation of OMCs mines will meet the requirement of the iron ore market and bring positive changes in the supply situation.
The two new mines will produce 12 million tons of iron ores per annum and the annual production of OMC will reach 20 million tons per annum, he said.
While environmental clearance has been obtained for production of 6.28 million tons of iron ore from Jiling mines against its reserve of 79.12 MT, as much as 5.7 million tons of iron ore will be mined from Guali where 194.12 mt of iron ore is estimated to be reserved, official sources said.
Patnaik said that Odisha has always taken early initiatives especially in the mining sector and supported reforms. Odisha government has rolled out helpdesk and feedback system under 5T initiative for ease of doing business in operation of i3MS Application and auction process of many major mines have been done with greater success in past few years.
The chief minister said the Centre and the state governments need to work together to make Odisha’s huge potential in mining and mineral sectors.
He thanked Joshi for allocating Guali and Jilling iron ore mines to the OMC.
Joshi said that Odisha is rich in mines and minerals.
The economy of both the state and country will grow if the work is done with coordination.
Joshi said the state will receive Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore revenue annually from these two mines and create employment opportunities. This apart, the two mines are expected to meet the requirement in the iron ore market.
The coordination between the state and Centre will lay the foundation for the beginning of a new era in economic growth of the country, a statement released by the Chief Ministers Office said quoting Joshi.
