BS reported that Mr Naveen Jindal controlled Jindal Steel & Power Ltd is in the race for Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi coal project one of the 10 biggest deposits in the world.
The report quoted Mr Vikrant Gujral vice chairman and CEO of JSPL as saying that “We had made a presentation before the Group of Ministers. We have been informed that we are one of the short listed bidders for a 49% stake in Tavan Tolgoi. This is a big deposit and we are the only Indian company to be short listed.”
Tavan Tolgoi has six billion tonnes of coal of which two billion is coking. The balance 51% stake would be held by a government owned company. Though Mr Gujral did not specify the value of the deal, pointing out that this would have to be studied.
Industry sources said that it could run into billions of dollars as it is an operational mine. He said most Indian companies have been eyeing smaller mining companies, while adding BHP and Brazil’s Vale were also in the fray.
Mr Gujral said the coking coal could be transported to cater to JSPL’s steel plants in India. However, he pointed out that Mongolia is a land locked country and the mineral would have to be routed through either China or Russia.
