After the shutdown of Vedanta Aluminium's one-million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh on December 5, the Odisha government seems to have woken up, albeit belatedly, to the raw material crisis that has stalked the company for last five years.

In a bid to help revive operations of the Lanjigarh refinery, the steel & mines department has started the process of identifying prospected bauxite deposits where mining operations can commence with the statutory clearances.

Vedanta Alumina Limited (VAL), on Wednesday, shut down its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, and stopped feeding bauxites and started washing its tanks.

The lease for its Panchpatmali bauxite mines having expired three days ago, the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is pinning hopes on the November 26 Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting to giv

Bhubaneswa rEven as the National Aluminium Company refinery is facing closure due to want of bauxite, the company chairman-cum-managing director, Ansuman Das, on Monday assured that there would be no problem in meeting the export commitments besides the demand of the smelter.

Stating that the company has commitments for dispatch of two more consignments off Vizag port this month, the CMD said that these two would be met with. According to him, the nominated vessels for the cargo has already started for Vizag port. “We would reschedule the date for other commitments after we come to know the status of the mines by this month end”. He also clarified that there is alumina stock to meet the demand of its smelter at Angul.

Even as National Aluminium Company (Nalco) awaits anxiously for the nod of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) for grant of temporary work permit (TWP) to reopen its lapsed bauxite mine, the non-inclusion of the matter in the agenda of the next meeting of FAC has emerged as a matter of concern.

Any delay in the FAC, which is crucial for grant of TWP, may jeopardise the future operation of the company’s 2.1 million tonne alumina refinery at Damanjodi, on the foot of Panchpatmali bauxite deposit in Koraput district.

Company hopes to get permit to re-operate mine by December

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) has stopped production at its Panchpatmali North-Central block bauxite mines after its lease deed for the area expired on Saturday. The company, which is awaiting renewal of the lease, said it is expecting a temporary working permit to operate the mine by December. “We have applied for a temporary working permit (TWP) for a period of one year. The status of the application will be clear by the end of this month,” said a senior official of Nalco.

Bhubaneswar In a major relief for the National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the Orissa government on Thursday assured the company that there would be no restriction on mining bauxite from the Panchapatmali mines in Koraput district.

As the lease tenure of the Nalco’s captive bauxite mines comes to an end on November 16, the firm was worried about sourcing raw material for its refinery at Damanjodi. There was apprehension that Nalco’s refinery and the smelter at Angul would be shut down for want of bauxite. In fact, the company is now left with only 10-15 days stock of bauxite.

As many as four companies have evinced interest in buying bauxite calcination plant run by state-owned mining major Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC). The plant having a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year is located in Kutch district.

The state PSU had floated tenders to sell this plant, which is in working condition, in September this year. "Four companies have shown interests in buying the plant from GMDC," said sources close to the development. While the plant is in working condition, it is not producing at optimum levels, making it financially unviable. The current output is 160 tonnes a day.

Bhubaneswar: Seeking to steer clear of the controversial Niyamgiri mining project, Vedanta Group chief Anil Agarwal today asked the Odisha government to immediately provide bauxite for running the

Public Sector National Aluminium Company seems to be heading for major crisis this month as the 30-year-old mining lease of company’s only bauxite mine in Koraput district is about to expire on Nov