India is encouraging domestic companies to acquire overseas assets in key raw materials such as iron ore, coking coal, limestone, and dolomite, as it ramps up steelmaking capacity to meet growing demand.
“We are encouraging our companies to acquire assets abroad, right from iron ore to coking coal to even limestone and dolomite,” Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said at an industry event in Mumbai last Saturday, as reported by Reuters. “Raw material securitisation is the most important aspect of steelmaking.”
As the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, India aims to increase its steelmaking capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, up from the current 200 million tonnes.
To support this expansion, coking coal imports are projected to rise to 160 million tonnes by 2030, from around 58 million tonnes at present, Poundrik noted.
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However, despite growing steel output, India’s coking coal imports dipped 0.7% in the fiscal year ending March, due to reduced shipments from Australia and the United States, according to commodities consultancy BigMint.
India depends on imports for approximately 85% of its coking coal needs, with Australia accounting for more than half of those shipments. In an effort to diversify its sources, India has been exploring partnerships with Mongolia, although logistical challenges persist in sourcing materials from the landlocked nation.
State-run mining company NMDC is actively exploring coking coal assets in Indonesia and Australia, according to Chairman Amitava Mukherjee, who spoke last Thursday.
“We see this as a business opportunity,” Mukherjee said, adding that discussions are at various stages but declined to share further details due to confidentiality agreements.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
