Thakurani mines closure order to hit iron ore supplies to JSPL.

The Odisha's Directorate of Mines has ordered the closure of Sarda Mines Pvt. Ltd.-owned Thakurani mines owing to the expiry of environmental clearance on 1 April, effectively cutting off iron ore supplies to the Naveen Jindal-owned Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL), which sources all the iron ore produced from these mines, according to a mines department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Thakurani mines are being investigated by a Supreme Court-appointed committee over other alleged irregularities, and were cited by the M.B. Shah Commission that looked into the issue of illegal mining as an example of how changes made in mining leases allowed some miners to increase their production manifold.

JSPL was sourcing iron ore fines produced from the mines for its five million tonne per annum (mtpa) pellet plant at Barbil in Odisha and lumpy ore for its 3 mtpa steel unit in Raigad, Chhattisgarh.


The Odisha's mines department official said his department did not receive a formal communication from the Union environment ministry on the extension of the environmental clearance and therefore ordered the mine's closure. 'With the model code of conduct now in force, it looks unlikely the matter will be resolved till the end of the elections,' the official said.


LIVEMINT