Rio Tinto to develop bauxite mines before alumina refinery

Agra - Unfazed by the global economic slowdown, international mining behemoth Rio Tinto is seeking to develop bauxite mines as a prelude to investing about $2.2 billion (nearly Rs 9,000 crore *) for a greenfield alumina refinery and 2.5-lakh * tonne smelter plant in India, its top official in the country said today.

"We are interested in getting bauxite mines which may enable us to further the process of setting up the alumina refinery and smelter plant," Rio Tinto's India Managing Director Nik Senapati said while unfurling his company's plans in the country. The London-listed company is believed to be the world's biggest producer of alumina and aluminium.

It is likely to go for a 1.4 million tons of alumina refinery and 2.5 lakh tons smelter to produce aluminium in India and is in talks with various companies to share their bauxite resources. He indicated that the investment could be to the tune of nearly Rs 8,200 crore for the entire project going by the thumb rule on investment in such projects globally. Saying that his company has "a long-term commitment for India" Senapati pointed out that the ideal states for scouting bauxite mines are Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Though, he refused to specify the location of the project, yet indications are that the company could zero in on Orissa for the same.

As smelters are power-intensive, the company is also planning to secure assured coal supply and that is why it is eyeing joint venture with state-run behemoth Coal India Limited which has floated Expression of Interest for reviving closed underground mines. Besides, the company has already applied for reconnaissance permit, prospecting licence and mining leases for iron ore and diamond in the country. It has already discovered a world-class diamond resource of about 70 million tons in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

* 1 lakh = 100,000
1 crore = 10 million