JSW Steel evaluating coal mine buy out proposals

"We have been looking for coal mines acquisition in Australia, America and Africa. We are currently evaluating some proposals, though nothing has been finalised yet," JSW Steel Joint Managing Director MVS Seshagiri Rao told reporters. "However, it might take sometime to take a final call since the viability of the target mines has to be seen before going in for acquisition," he added.

JSW Steel had received a set back in Mozambique as the blocks for which mining concessions were granted to it found to be unviable for steel making. Initial survey in these mines revealed that the ash content was around 60 per cent there. "We will go for coal mines having reserves in the range between 10 million tonnes and one billion tonnes," he said.

JSW Steel currently imports its entire coal requirement of 4.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to feed its Bellary steel plant mainly from Australia. The plant has 6.8 mtpa steel making capacity now. However, JSW Steel's demand for coal is set to go up further as it increases the installed capacity at the plant to 10 mtpa by March 2011.

The price of coking coal is on the rise with the revival of steel demand. The long-term rates of the raw material are expected to be 20-40 per cent higher in the next fiscal from the current level of around USD 100 per tonne.