KIOCL plans to develop mines in AP.

Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited plans to invest about Rs. 1,000-1,500 crore for development of mines and for setting up of beneficiation and pelletisation plants in Andhra Pradesh.

The Public Sector Enterprsie under Ministry of Steel and based in Bangalore, it had entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2013 with the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation, a state corporation, and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, also a unit of Ministry of Steel.

A team of officials from APMDC and KIOCL have completed preliminary survey and investigation of proposed mining for iron ore in Nemakallu and Hiradahulu villages in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The beneficiation and pelletisation project, to be set up jointly by APMDC and KIOCL, is aimed at supplying pellets to RINL.

The Andhra Pradesh Government is set to recommend the application of APMDC for prospecting license to Ministry of Mines, New Delhi. Thereafter, APMDC and KIOCL will carry out exploration for iron ore reserves.

At a meeting called for by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Malay Chatterjee, Chairman and Managing Director of KIOCL informed that the project proposes to install beneficiation and pelletisation plants with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum each depending on the availability of iron ore at mine site.

The KIOCL official also mentioned that the project could provide direct and indirect employment to about 3,500 persons besides promoting ancillary industries in the area. The venture of APMDC, KIOCL and RINL would also implement several welfare measures to develop the surrounding area, thereby benefiting the backward district of Anantapur.


HBL