Diversification plan: NMDC scouts for mining assets across four continents

From South America in the west to Australia in the east, state-owned iron ore giant NMDC is scouting mining assets, including critical minerals, in four continents to meet the future needs of industries such as automotive, renewable energy, electronics, and steel, according to industry sources.

NMDC, which caters to India's one-fourth iron ore demand, has set a goal to earn at least 20% of revenues from sale of minerals other than the key steel making raw material.

Industry sources stated that the PSU is exploring lithium, copper, cobalt, and rare earth blocks in Chile (South America), Australia, Africa, Brazil and parts of Asia.

The company is also scouting for limestone mines, dolomite, coking coal, and tungsten blocks in the UAE, Oman, Bhutan, and Australia, they said.

Acquiring these minerals will allow NMDC to cater to major industries in India on a growth trajectory, such as steel, auto, electronics, renewable energy, aerospace and defence, railway and metros, etc., sources said.

When asked for a comment, NMDC said, "Right now, we are a 99.9% iron ore company. We aim to help the growing industries in the country with the maximum of their mineral needs".

In an earlier interview with PTI, NMDC Chairman Amitava Mukherjee confirmed the company is working on strategies to diversify into selling other minerals as well. NMDC aims to be India's largest mineral mining company and earn at least 20% of revenue from minerals other than iron ore, he had said.

NMDC's expansion aligns directly with government initiatives aimed at securing long-term raw material supplies and reducing import dependency across economic sectors.

For the steel sector alone, raw materials account for around 65-70% of steelmaking costs, as per the Ministry of Steel's draft Steel Policy Vision 2047, which aims to reduce import dependence through domestic mining, washery expansion, asset acquisition, long-term supply arrangements, and AI-based optimisation of coal blends.

The draft policy said India's objective of increasing the share of manufacturing in the economy, supported by initiatives such as Make in India, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, semiconductor manufacturing, defence indigenisation, and the development of industrial corridors, is expected to significantly expand steel consumption in sectors such as automotive, engineering goods, capital goods, machinery, shipbuilding, renewable energy equipment and defence production.