Industry Odisha Bureau, Jul 17: Evincing keen interest in owning India’s largest untapped Karlapat bauxite reserves claimed to be located in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Kalahandi district, the country’s biggest industrial groups have reportedly purchased the requisite tender papers for being serious bidders for the treasure trove.
As per media reports, the interested parties are “Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Hindalco Industries, Vedanta Aluminium, Naveen Jindal-backed Powercem, and Coal India”.
It has reportedly been highlighted that: “The Karlapat bauxite block in Odisha’s Kalahandi district is dubbed to be a ‘virgin mine’ since it has never been mined despite being claimed to be India’s largest bauxite reserves containing over 200 million tonnes (MTs) of bauxite ore sprawling over 3,100 hectares.”
Elaborating on the reasons behind the serious intent being reportedly exhibited by the above-mentioned industrial groups, media reports stated that, “The Adani Group is gearing up to foray into the aluminium business through a proposed two (02) million tonnes per annum (MTPA) aluminium project in Odisha for which it seeks to secure the prized Karlapat bauxite block so that dependence on third-party bauxite suppliers could be averted.”
Accordingly, India’s largest aluminium producer Vendanta Aluminium is reportedly “planning to expand to six (06) MTPA capacity over the next three years from its present capacity of around 2.5 MTPA.”
Similarly, India’s second-largest aluminium producer Hindalco Industries also reportedly “wants to expand its Aditya Aluminium complex already in Odisha from its current capacity of 1.4 MTPA.”
Media reports further stated that, “India has already held 43 bauxite block auctions between 2017 and 2026, while Odisha-based bauxite blocks have been consistently witnessing most aggressive bidding following which the recent auctions of Odisha’s Sijimali and Kutrumali bauxite mines have already witnessed tough tug of war during the biddings. Ultimately, Sijimali was won by the Vedanta Group, while Kutrumali was won by the Adani Group.”
