RANCHI (Commodity Online): Chiria mines have again become a centre of controversy with several big firms claiming control of the iron ore mine.

Chiria mines are world’s largest source of good quality iron ore. The main stakeholder in the mines, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), now wants to get full control of the over 2 billion tonne ore reserve estimated in the region.

The move from SAIL is expected to dent plans of ArcelorMittal, JSW Steel, Essar Steel and Tata Steel, which have been eyeing a portion of Chiria mines.

The Jharkhand government and SAIL have locked horns over the ownership of the Chiria mines for more than three years. The state continues to dispute SAIL’s claim over the mines, which were allotted to the Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO), which subsequently merged with SAIL four years ago. In fact, the state government terminated three out of six mining leases of IISCO in the Chiria to release iron ore resources for meeting the captive requirements of other steel companies.

In fact, the state government is not willing to surrender any portion of the estimated 2 billion tonne reserve of Chiria mines.

While all the six leases held by SAIL for the mine have expired, three out of the six are on deemed extension. The other three stand terminated. SAIL had taken up the matter of cancellation of mining lease in a mining tribunal that favoured the PSU’s contention that orders to cancel the mining lease be revoked by the state government. The state went to the High Court against the tribunal’s orders. Both parties have now asked the High Court for time to resolve the matter amicably.

The mines ministry had called a meeting of officials of Jharkhand government and SAIL earlier this week to resolve the issue. But the meeting failed to find a solution to the problem.

At the meeting, SAIL is understood to have reiterated its earlier proposal of setting up a 12 million tonne greenfield steel plant with an investment of over Rs 50,000 crore in Jharkhand to justify its full claim over Chiria.