The first ever advance e-auction, held on March 8, witnessed bidding for close to half a million tonnes of iron ore by large steel mills

Advance e-auction for NMDC's iron ore has started off on a promising note with steel mills lapping up the entire lot of iron ore fines put on auction last month. With the new system coming into place, the public sector miner has increased production of iron ore at two of its mines in Bellary district, giving much needed relief to steel mills.

The steel ministry has asked the environment ministry to expressly revalidate the green clearance to Posco’s stranded steel project in Orissa “to avoid unnecessary noises raised by NGOs and anti-project entities.”

The ministry would also begin fresh talks with the Naveen Patnaik government to stress the need to hand over the land required for the proposed plant.
The South Korean steel company had inked a MoU with Orissa in June 2005 to set up a 12 million tonne integrated steel project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district at an estimated expenditure of Rs 53,000 crore, but the project has been dogged with land acquisition issues.

Says the govt's attempts to implement policy measures have been futile for nearly six months

The All Odisha Steel Federation (AOSF), a body representing the interests of steel and sponge iron makers in the state, has slammed the steel & mines department for its failure to implement policy decisions that promised raw material security for indigenous units. AOSF held that the government's attempts to implement the policy measures have been futile for nearly six months.

The National Green Tribunal has sought the response of Jindal Steel and five other steel plants located in Ghaziabad after the UP Pollution Control Board informed the tribunal that they are "highly

Asks state, Posco and Geomin to give written submissions by Apr 5

The Supreme Court on Thursday concluded two year long hearing on a case related to grant of mineral prospecting licence (PL) for Khandadhar iron ore mines in favour of Posco and reserved the judgment. It has directed all the parties concerned, such as the Odisha government, Posco-India and Geomin Minerals and Marketing (P) Ltd to give their written submissions by April 5.

Accused of supplying sub-standard coal at high prices, the country’s largest coal producer, Coal India (CIL), is planning to make third-party inspection of coal samples mandatory for all future fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with the user industries in the power, steel and cement sectors.

Sources privy to the development told FE that the move would restrain companies from levelling accusations against the coal PSU as the tests on coal samples would be undertaken by an independent agency whose selection would be mutually decided by CIL and the user companies.

Steel mills still operating at 50% capacity due to shortage in supply of iron ore

Restoration of normalcy in supply of iron ore to steel mills in and around Karnataka might take more time if the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) accepts the request for reclassification of mines. Currently, CEC, following the Supreme Court's direction, is looking into the appeal of the main petitioner, Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS), in the public interest litigation against illegal mining, for reclassification of mining leases based on the extent of several illegalities committed by them.

BHUBANESWAR: Mamata Das (name changed) of the nondescript Dhinkia village in Odisha has perhaps never met any of the members of Meera Paibi, the all-women group fighting state atrocities and human

At least 20 persons, most of them women, were injured in a lathi charge when they were demonstrating in the Posco project area on Thursday demanding the withdrawal of armed police from their locality.

At least two women protesters protested seminude. Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Satyabrata Bhoi confirmed the incident and said a case will be registered in this regard.

BHUBANESWAR: In what seems to be a desperate move to stall the ongoing land acquisition move by the government, anti-Posco group on Wednesday threatened to organize a nude protest, even as South Ko