Bhubaneswar, February 16: The Odisha Government has taken several initiatives including a policy of Long Term Linkage (LTL) through OMC to ensure uninterrupted raw material availability for domestic industries.
The State Steel and Mines Department has instructed all the Deputy Director of Mines to ensure mineral production by the lessee up to a minimum quantity i.e. the lowest limit from among the quantity permitted under Mining Plan, Environment Clearance and Consent to Operate (CTO) and also to initiate action in accordance with MMDR Act, 1957 and relevant rules in cases of failure by any lessee.
The eligible industrial units, especially steel plants have also been linked up with the State PSU Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd. (OMC) to ensure raw material availability to their respective units through a Long Term Linkage (LTL) Policy, sources said.
OMC, the State PSU, is also carrying out auctions of major minerals like Iron Ore and Chromite every month to ensure flow of raw material to the steel industries.
The State Government, since 2024-25, has been continuously auctioning mineral blocks in the State to facilitate uninterrupted raw material production and for use of the raw materials by the steel plants in the State.
The Department has also taken steps in accordance with the recommendation of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur by the lessees for development of a dedicated mineral evacuation corridor in Sundargarh district to facilitate hassle-free mineral transportation in the State.
The State Government is coming up with a slurry pipeline policy for the State to avoid logistics bottlenecks such as rail connectivity, road capacity and transport constraints affecting steel clusters.
As per available data, a total of 59 mineral blocks were auctioned during 2014 and 2025, of which 55 blocks were auctioned by the State Government and remaining four by the Centre.
Recently, the state has put another 12 virgin mineral blocks for auction and the State has received a robust response from domestic and global mining and metal companies to its invitation for bids for 11 blocks.
The mineral blocks spread across Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Koraput, Nuapada and Balangir districts, include a diverse mix of iron ore, manganese, bauxite, limestone and dolomite resources, catering to the requirements of the steel, aluminium and cement industries.
The auction was notified by the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) on December 4 last and the last day ended very recently.
Local industry analysts have estimated that the State could generate Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 crore in cumulative revenue over the life of the mines, driven largely by iron ore blocks with long mine life and high-grade reserves in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts.
