BHUBANESWAR (Commodity Online): Vedanta Aluminium Limited may start bauxite mining at its Lanjigarh refinery in Orissa’s Kalahandi district soon as the company expects permission from the Indian government in the coming days.

The Rs 4,500-crore project is yet to pick up steam as the Indian government has not yet given its approval for mining of bauxite in the adjacent Niyamgiri region because of the protests by a section of tribals.

The Orissa government has leased out 721.323 hectares of land at Lanjigarh in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada to the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC). It has been agreed in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the OMC and VAL would form a joint-venture to exploit bauxite from the said mine.

Currently, VAL is sourcing bauxite from Gujarat at market price and its BALCO project in Chhattisgarh, spending hefty sums on transportation. Industry sources said bauxite transportation charge from such distant places accounts for half of the production cost.

VAL is currently producing alumina at a rate of seven lakh tonne per annum, much below its million-tonne capacity because of delays in securing mining rights from the union government.

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