Source - CNBC-TV18

Mr Santosh Hegde former Lokayukta of Karnataka has recently pointed out that the mining industry is likely to face a loss of nearly INR 16000 crore from illegal mining in Karnataka.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18’s Reema Tendulkar and Ekta Batra, Mr Neeraj Singal MD of Bhushan Steel said that since the company has no operations in Karnataka, it will not face consequences of illegal mining.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview.

Q - Have you seen any impact of the developments, which have taken place in Karnataka? You source your requirements from Orissa, so has there been any increase in cost on account of that?

A - We have fixed iron ore prices, on quarterly basis, with Orissa Mineral till the end of September. As far as Karnataka is concerned, we have no operations in Karnataka and so the impact of Karnataka is not on us.

Q - While we understand that you have long term contracts from Orissa but could you give us a sense of how the spot prices have moved?

A - Spot prices are looking up as the monsoon will slowly get over from October. The steel industry has to look up. Moreover, the iron ore price also goes up; in fact, it has gone up about 4% to 5% in last 15 days.

However, in this month, iron ore prices will be stable. There will be some impact of illegal mining happening in Karnataka on iron ore prices since JSW Steel sources iron ore from Orissa and other states.

To read full transcript, please visit www.steelguru.com