Coal India enters iron ore mining after Odisha block win
Coal India has won the Gadadharpur iron-ore block in the eastern state of Odisha through a competitive auction, the State's director of mines and geology, Rohit Kumar Lenka, said on Thursday.
The block contains 258-million tonnes of iron-ore resources and marks the State-run miner’s entry into iron-ore mining, according to commodities consultancy BigMint.
India, the world’s second-largest crude steel producer after China, is expected to produce 340-million to 345-million tons of iron-ore in 2026/27, up from about 316-million tons a year earlier, according to BigMint.
Odisha is one of India’s key mineral-producing states, and rising iron-ore output is expected to support planned steelmaking capacity additions, as well as infrastructure and construction demand.