India's single largest iron ore producer—NMDC, which is also the key supplier of raw material to the steel industry in the country, has added another feather in its cap by garnering international recognition at the Iron Ore Week in Singapore

India is going to be the bright spot in the steel world, said N Baijendra Kumar, chairman-cum-managing director of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC). He was speaking at the Iron Ore Week (IOW) at Singapore which was organised by SCX India.

Kumar explained that steel production and demand is pegged to grow at a healthy rate of over 6-7 percent, whereas the production and consumption in major countries/regions like China, Japan and the European Union (EU), is likely to stagnate in the near future. “The Government push on infrastructure and allied industries would ensure that the targets of the National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017 would be achieved. The per capita consumption of steel and steel production capacity is increasing in line to meet the NSP targets of 300 million tonnes by FY31,” said he.

According to Kumar, currently, $14-15 billion investment is underway in the steel sector which would substantially increase the steel-making capacity. “NMDC is fully geared to meet the increased iron ore demand and is investing in mines and evacuation capacity for augmenting capacity to almost double in the next 3-4 years. NMDC is India’s largest producer of iron ore and 10th largest in the world. It has the best quality ore, with highest Fe content in the world and more than adequate reserves to cater to India’s enhanced needs. NMDC operations are comparable to the best in the world and on several indices like the cost of production, employee cost and others its performance is comparable with international giants like Vale, Rio Tinto, FMG and so on.”

Kumar also pointed out that the company also has an excellent track record on environmental protection, social responsibility and regulatory compliances. Indian ore is cheaper by 50-55 percent than imported ore, which gives Indian steel industry a great competitive advantage. NMDC is also exploring the opportunity to export its tailings from Bailadila sector as the current international prices of ore would make it feasible and profitable to do so.

Keen interest was shown by many participants of the IOW in this regard and several trade inquiries were made. It was the first time that a chief operating officer of an Indian public sector enterprise participated in panel discussions in such a prestigious international event.

On the sidelines of the event, during the round table conference of CEOs, Kumar mentioned that his experience of having worked as a senior bureaucrat in Chhattisgarh Government, which is difficult terrain to mine and where the company’s big mines were situated, had helped him immensely to act as the CMD of NMDC. “It’s important for a mining company to take care of the local community and our focus has been on the same since I took over the helm of NMDC.” The discussion also focused on how environmental protection, social initiatives, and compliance regimes are key to the success of any mining company, as pointed out by another panelist, Cynthia Carroll, the former chief executive officer of an international giant, Anglo American.

NMDC’s chairman also informed the gathering that the company has won the Platt's award for CSR last year and had been shortlisted for the same award again this year. He also mentioned that NMDC would be happy to participate in such global events on a regular basis so that visibility of the company improves and investor confidence is generated. “NMDC has largely not been visible in the world community and recall is much less than should be keeping in view its commendable financial and physical performance. I assure that I will take personal initiative to communicate and interact with the global steel and iron ore community and investors so that NMDC gets the respect and recall it deserves.”

At the event, Kumar also assured that NMDC is fully geared up to take over any mine that it may be offered to it in any state of India, in the eventuality of any disruption in the allocation of mines through auction to be held next year in India.