Steel Authority of India Ltd said the Jharkhand Government has agreed to renew the leases of Chiria iron ore mines to meet the current needs of the company.

The report quoted Mr SK Roongta chairman of SAIL as saying that “The Jharkhand Government is agreeable to renew the leases for current needs of the company.’’

Mr Roongta on the sidelines of a symposium told reporters that SAIL had asked for renewal of 10 leases, out of which four were under dispute.

The company had sought a reserve of 1000 million tonne of Chiria ore from the Jharkhand Government. He said that “The Government had given a written communication to provide 810 million tonne and an additional 200 million tonne later.”

Chiria mines belonged to steel firm IISCO at Burnpur in West Bengal which was taken over by SAIL in 2006-07. It was then renamed at IISCO Steel Plant.

(Sourced from Business Line)