MUMBAI: India is encouraging companies to acquire iron ore, coking coal, and other key raw material assets overseas, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik says, as the country ramps up its steelmaking capacity to meet rising demand.
“We are encouraging our companies to acquire assets abroad, right from iron ore to coking coal to even limestone and dolomite,” Poundrik said at an industry event in Mumbai last Saturday. “Raw material securitisation is the most important aspect of steelmaking.”
India, the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, aims to boost its overall steelmaking capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, up from about 200 million tonnes it produces at present.
To support this expansion, coking coal imports are projected to rise to 160 million tonnes by 2030 from around 58 million tonnes now, Poundrik had projected last Friday.
Despite an uptick in steel output, India’s coking coal imports dipped 0.7% in the fiscal year ended in March due to lower shipments from Australia and the United States, said commodities consultancy BigMint.
India relies on imports to meet 85% of its coking coal needs, with Australia supplying more than half of those shipments.
In a bid to diversify supply, India has also been exploring partnerships with Mongolia.
However, logistical challenges remain in sourcing material from the landlocked country, Poundrik noted.
India’s state-run miner NMDC is exploring coking coal assets, in Indonesia and Australia, chairman Amitava Mukherjee said last Thursday.
India, meets 85% of its coking coal requirements through imports. Australia accounts for more than half of the country’s coking coal imports.
The company is looking at this as a business opportunity, Mukherjee said.
“The explorations are in different stages of negotiations.”
He did not disclose the details of these talks due to confidentiality. — Reuters
