Vedanta, Andhra co to source GMDC bauxite

Ahmedabad: Vedanta Resources and Vishakhapattanam-based AnRak Aluminium limited will source 3 lakh tonnes bauxite from Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation's Gadhshisha mines in Kutch district. Both these companies bid highest for GMDC's bauxite. GMDC, majorly owned by the Gujarat government had, earlier, supplied 5 lakh tonne of bauxite to Vedanta.

Vedanta is listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE), while GMDC is listed on Bombay Stock Exchange ( BSE). AnRak Aluminium limited is a joint venture between Andhra Pradesh-based Penna group of industries and Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority.

GMDC invited a bid for six lakh tonnes this time and will deliver 3 lakh tonnes each to both the bidders. Both the companies have to lift this stocks by March 2012 as per the terms. The corporation will generate Rs 40-45 crore of revenue from this sale, said VS Gadhvi, MD of GMDC. Gujarat government announced its bauxite policy in September 2009.

Under the new policy directions, majority of the bauxite produced locally will be available to domestic users. The policy which favoured captive users has restricted exports. GMDC had already earned Rs 40 crore from the bauxite sale in the first round of bidding. Hence it will add Rs 85 crore of aggregate revenue in past one and half year. Vedanta who won earlier bid with a Rs 648 per tonne quote, bid Rs 685 this time. Anrak Aluminium also made the same price bid. GMDC owns 66 million tonne of bauxite reserves capable of supplying raw material to refineries for next 25 years said sources. Jamnagar, with reserves of 60 million tonnes, has the largest reserves of bauxite in Gujarat followed by Porbandar (20 million tonne), Amreli and Sabarkantha.

AnRak Aluminium Limited commenced as a joint venture between Penna group of industries and Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority with 70: 30 ratio. The project is a result of a memorandum of understanding signed in February 2007 between the Department of Mines under the ministry of industries of the government of Andhra Pradesh and the government of Ras-al-Khaima. As a part of the project, a greenfield Aluminium plant in of 1.5 MTPA and an Aluminium smelter with 250,000 ton capacity per annum will be implemented in phases.

Recently, GMDC entered into a joint venture with Mumbai-based Alumina Refinery Limited for a Rs 30 crore project to manufacture speciality chemicals from bauxite in Kutch.