NMDC will make an investment of around Rs 900 crore in the next two to three years.
The investment will be made to ramp up iron ore production from seven million tpa to 10 million tonne, from its Kumaraswamy mines in Karnataka.
An Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Minister of Environment and Forests has given nod for environmental clearance, allowing NMDC to increase the production and the EC is valid up to 2042.
In August, the Supreme Court raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining from 28 million tonne to 35 million tonne for Ballari district, and from seven million tonne to 15 million tonne for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts in Karnataka.
On 10 November 2022, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) recommended the company to go from seven million tpa to 10 million tpa.
There will be a crushing and screening and loading plant at the site. The capex for all the works is Rs 898 crore over a period of two to three years.
NMDC is targeting a production of 46 million tpa of iron ore in FY23.