Bloomberg reported that NMDC Ltd India largest iron ore producer plans to acquire two coking coal mines in Mozambique and Russia for about USD 300 million to feed its planned steel plants in India.

Mr Narendra Kumar Nanda Chairman of NMDC said talks are on to acquire a mine with 360 million tonnes of deposits in Mozambique Tete province and an 80 million tonne mine in Russia Kemorovo region.

He, without elaborating, also said that the company is also considering buying an iron ore and manganese mine in Brazil Amapa province.

He added that “We want to be prepared when our steel mills start operating. We can bring some coal from these mines to our plants and sell the rest for hedging purposes.”

Mr Nanda said NMDC expects to appoint advisers by the end of this month to carry out the due diligence for the assets. The company recently ended acquisition talks for Greystone Mineracao do Brasil iron ore mine in Brazil and a coal mine in Russia.

NMDC said in October it signed an accord to acquire a 50% stake in Australia Legacy Iron Ore Ltd for AUD 18.9 million its first acquisition overseas.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)