In order to meet its raw material requirement, JSW Steel plans to buy 60-70 per cent of the total iron ore that is being auctioned by NMDC.

   The company needs about 16 mn t ore of 63 per cent ferrous (Fe) grade for its Vijayanagar steel plant in Bellary. It hopes to procure about 12 mn t through e-auctions in Karnataka, leaving a gap of about four mn t.

   The firm plans to procure the balance quantity from other states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, depending on the availability.

   During 2013-14, the firm expects to face shortage of up to 25 per cent of its ore requirement for its 11-million-tonne plant. Because of limited ore supply, the firm is able to operate the plant only at around 80 per cent of the capacity.

   It expects both Category A and B mines (in the state, closed earlier by Supreme Court order) to resume mining in the next two to three months, with a combined production of about 12 million tonne (mn t).

   At present, on approval of reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) plans by the court’s Central Empowered Committee, three mines in category-A (capacity of 1.4 mtpa) have restarted production.

   Another eight (capacity of 3.3 mn tpa) are in various stages of approval and expected to commence production during the October-December quarter.