Coal India enters iron ore mining after Odisha block win

Coal India has won the Gadadharpur iron ore block in the eastern state of Odisha through a competitive auction, the state's director ‌of ⁠mines and ⁠geology, Rohit Kumar Lenka, said on Thursday.

The block contains 258 million tonnes of iron ore resources and marks the state-run miner's entry into iron ⁠ore mining, ‌according to commodities consultancy BigMint.

India, ​the world's second-largest ⁠crude steel producer after China, is ​expected to produce 340 million ​to 345 million metric tons of iron ore in 2026-27, up from about 316 million tons a ‌year earlier, according to BigMint.


Odisha is one of India's ​key ​mineral-producing states, ⁠and rising iron ore output is expected to support planned steelmaking capacity ​additions, as well as infrastructure and construction demand.