Fresh deposits for coal, iron ore found in Chhattisgarh

October 5th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh has embarked on a plan to become a leading power producer in India, signing 61 deals with independent power producers (IPPs) to generate about 50,000 MW of electricity, an official said Monday. The coal-fired power projects will come up in northern Chhattisgarh, a coal-rich belt, on a total investment of around Rs.250,000 crore.

September 11th, 2009 Cliffs boosts expectation for iron ore, coal salesCLEVELAND — Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said Friday it will produce and sell more iron ore and coal this year than it had previously expected.

September 8th, 2009 RAIPUR - The state-owned National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC), India's largest iron ore producer and exporter, will begin construction of a Rs.17,000-crore integrated steel project in Chhattisgarh by the year-end, according to Chief Minister Raman Singh. The plant, with an annual capacity of three million tonnes, will come up over 995 acres in the Nagarnar area in Bastar district, 300 km south of state capital Raipur.

August 12th, 2009 BHILAI - Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is set to bag a 2,028-hectare block in the Rowghat iron ore mine deposits in Chhattisgarh to feed its flagship unit, the Bhilai Steel Plant, as it has obtained the final clearance from the environment and forest ministry. "Bhilai Steel has obtained the final clearance from the ministry early this month for the Rowghat project," an official told IANS Wednesday, adding that company had been seeking the deposit since 1983.

July 23rd, 2009 RAIPUR - A 500 MW power plant in Chhattisgarh that stopped production July 14 due to coal shortage has resumed generation, a company official said Thursday. The NSPCL plant, set up by state-run National Thermal Power Corporation and the Steel Authority India Limited, is located at Bhilai in Durg district, some 30 km west of here.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prakash Industries Ltd (PIL), a business house with interests in steel and power, is in the process to raise around 100 million dollars through an FCCB issue. The funds to be raised would be utilized to put up 625 MW thermal power plant at Champa, Chhattisgarh.

July 4th, 2009 RAIPUR - Maoist rebels extort up to Rs.300 crore every year in Chhattisgarh from traders of forest products, transporters and iron ore mining firms, says Chief Minister Raman Singh. "Maoists extort at least Rs.250-300 crore (Rs.2.5-3 billion) annually and their extortion business runs from the state's southern tip of Bastar to the northern Surguja district," Singh told IANS.

June 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Geologists have discovered 'Asia's largest' iron ore deposit in northeast China's Liaoning province, with an estimated reserve of more than 3 billion tons. The newly-found deposit, mainly between 1,200 meters and 1,860 meters underground and spanning a four-km-long, three-km-wide area, is at the Qiaotou Township, Pingshan District, Benxi city, according to Yu Wenli, head of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration.

June 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Monday said its royalty earnings from minerals rose 20 percent in 2008-09 to Rs.1,237 crore. "The state had made earnings of Rs.1,237.29 crore from minerals in 2008-09, comparing to Rs.1,028.38 crore in 2007-08, registering an overall 20 percent increase," an official statement said.

May 31st, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has asked the industry department to take a tough stand against 14 mining companies that failed to fulfil their commitment of planting saplings, an official said Sunday. The industry department is now planning to cancel the mining leases of the companies, both public and private, blaming them for "environment neglect".

March 9th, 2009 RAIPUR - Nearly a hundred farmers took out a rally here Monday to protest land acquisitions by GMR Energy at Raikheda village in Chhattisgarh for its Rs.55 billion power project. The company is purchasing land directly from nearly 250 farmers for a 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant.

January 28th, 2009 RAIPUR - GMR Energy will begin construction work on its ambitious, albeit contentious, 1,200 MW Chhattisgarh power project by September, a top company official said Thursday. 'The company will begin construction work by September and we are confident about completing the land acquisition within three-four months,' GMR Energy chief executive Raaj Kumar told newsmen here.

January 19th, 2009 RAIPUR - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Chhattisgarh will take the help of the corporate sector in drafting a new industrial policy, it said Tuesday. 'I have started working on a draft of the new industrial policy for the next five years and I have decided to hold separate discussions with experts, industrialists and industry bodies such as CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry),' Chief Minister Raman Singh told IANS.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - In an attempt to end the power crisis in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh will supply about 300 MW electricity to the southern state, an official said Sunday. 'We have formally approved the Karnataka government's request.

January 17th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh will start generating up to 700 MW power over the next three years using dust from coal washeries, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Sunday. Speaking at the two-day convention on 'Energy security from renewable energy sources' here, he said the country can narrow the widening demand-supply power gap by looking into options to generate power from non-conventional sources.