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.