Misrilall’s Saraubil Chromite Block Finally Goes To TS Alloys

TS Alloys, the fully owned subsidiary of Tata Steel Ltd which had bid the highest value for the Misrilall Chromite mines at Odisha's keenly contested online auctions, has finally acquired possession of the mine with the Odisha government finally clearing the decks after a period of judicial wrangling.

The chromite mine is the first lapsing merchant mine to be put to the successful online auction. It is among the 20 odd mines that are headed for expiry by March 31, 2020. TS Alloys had offered the highest premium of 88.5 percent for the Misrilall Mines. It had edged past other competitors such as Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL), Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA), BC Mohanty and Adani.

However, Misrilall Mine, which has been mining it for the past 65 years, had approached the Orissa High Court against denial of a licence extension to it. The court had asked the state government to consider Misrilall Mine’s plea, as well as allow it to match the highest bid in the auction to be able to retain the mine.

Misrilall Mine’s contention was that as per a 1997 renewal of its mining licence, the mine was considered a captive mine and so the permit should have been extended until 2030, as was the case with Tata Steel’s Joda iron ore mine. Instead, it was extended only until March 2020.

However, the state government has finally declared TS Alloys as the preferred bidder for the Saraubil block, a senior source in Tata Steel has confirmed.