India looks at buying mining assets in Mongolia

Mining ties

An Indian delegation consisting of officials from both the Government and private sector visited Mongolia recently

India has agreed to provide technical cooperation to Mongolia in developing Mongolia's mineral capabilities

Vishwanath Kulkarni

New Delhi, June 23

India is keen to acquire mining assets in Mongolia, especially for minerals such as coking coal, copper and uranium, among others.

As a first step in that direction, an inter-Ministerial sub-group consisting of officials from the Mines Ministry, SAIL, Hindustan Copper Ltd, Coal India Ltd and RITES among other public sector entities, has recently been set up to explore options and formulate the acquisition strategy.

“Mongolia is keen to attract Indian investments in its mining sector,” said Mr Sundeep Nayak, Joint Secretary in the Mines Ministry, who is also heading the inter-Ministerial sub-group. Though Mongolia is rich in minerals such as coking coal, copper and uranium, the mineral assets are under developed and the sector faces infrastructure issues especially relating to evacuation and transportation.

An Indian delegation consisting of officials from both the Government and private sector, led by the Mines Secretary, recently visited Mongolia to explore opportunities in that country. The delegation met the Mongolian Prime Minister, Mr Batbold S, who suggested that the Indian investments should aim at mineral-based value addition projects and associated infrastructure development.

Tech cooperation

India has agreed to provide technical cooperation to Mongolia in developing its mineral capabilities. The Geological Survey of India will be providing technical training to upgrade the mining skill sets and would assist Mongolian agencies in the areas of satellite-based mapping, conducting targeted surveys and studies of mineral wealth.

The Indian Bureau of Mines will be collaborating with its Mongolian counterpart in the areas of mineral processing, laboratory scale studies, information sharing and computerised ore modelling among others, Mr Nayak said.

The Inter-Ministerial group is likely to finalise the Indian strategy for acquiring assets or formation of joint ventures in Mongolia sometime in October after discussing various issues with the Mongolian delegation in New Delhi.

Options of forming a Government of India backed consortium of Indian companies from public and private sector for seeking mining and mineral concessions from Mongolian authorities for exploration or joint development would also be explored, Mr Nayak said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog