--- title: "Delays in mine clearances may hinder India's steel growth targets: JSPL" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/279054862.md" description: "Delays in operationalising auctioned mineral blocks and lengthy clearance processes may hinder India's steel production targets of 400 million tonnes by 2030, according to JSPL's Manish Singla. While per capita steel consumption has risen, challenges such as raw material availability, particularly iron ore, remain. India has started importing iron ore despite having abundant reserves. Singla urged the government to expedite mineral block auctions and address structural bottlenecks, including environmental clearances and logistics constraints, to support the steel industry's growth." datetime: "2026-03-13T05:44:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279054862.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279054862.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279054862.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Delays in mine clearances may hinder India's steel growth targets: JSPL Delays in operationalising auctioned mineral blocks and prolonged statutory clearance processes could pose serious challenges to India’s ambition of achieving 400 million tonnes (MT) of steel production by 2030, a senior industry executive warned on Friday. Manish Singla, head – mineral auction, strategy, mergers and acquisitions at JSP Ltd, said while the auction regime has improved transparency in the allocation of mineral resources, the sector continues to face structural bottlenecks that delay the operationalisation of mines. Speaking at the India Mines and Minerals Conclave 2026 organised by ASSOCHAM, Singla said India’s per capita steel consumption has gone up from around 59 kg 10 years ago to about 105 kg now. The next milestone, he said, is to increase this to 160 kg per capita by 2030, driven by sustained economic growth, infrastructure development and rising industrial demand. While the growth trajectory remains strong, Singla cautioned that raw material availability, particularly iron ore, could emerge as a major challenge. “India was historically self-sufficient in iron ore, which is the only raw material in the steel value chain where we had abundance. However, we have started importing iron ore as well. The country imported around 10–12 million tonnes (MT) of iron ore last year,” he said. According to the JSPL executive, this trend is worrying given that India possesses abundant reserves, particularly in Odisha, which remains the country’s largest iron ore-producing state. Odisha, he said, currently has steel production capacity of around 40–45 MT, with plans to scale it up to about 100 MT by 2030. Accordingly, iron ore production must rise 2.5 times — from 160 MT to 400 MT — to support this expansion, he said. Singla urged the Centre and the Ministry of Mines to accelerate the auction of additional mineral blocks so that the steel industry and associated sectors such as pellet manufacturing have assured access to raw materials. Pointing out that industry demand for mineral blocks remains strong, he said the weighted average premium offered by bidders has shot up from 110 per cent to 150–160 per cent over the past decade and the latest tranche of mineral block auctions held this week clearly shows that demand for mineral blocks is still firm and companies are willing to pay higher premiums to secure resources. Singla highlighted several structural bottlenecks, including lengthy approval processes related to statutory clearances that delay the operationalisation of auctioned mines. “Around 70 mineral blocks have been auctioned in Odisha, of which more than 30 are operational. But considering the steel capacity growth, the success of operational iron ore blocks should be more. We should expect around 75 per cent success in operational versus the auctioned blocks. This can only happen if there are reforms in the process of environmental and forest clearances,” he observed. Another major challenge, Singla said, is the shortage of compensatory afforestation (CA) land, which is required when forest land is diverted for mining projects. “As most iron ore deposits are located in forest areas, the availability of CA land and quicker processing of clearances will be critical for the development of new mineral blocks,” he noted. Logistics constraints also pose a major hurdle. Roads and rail networks in mineral-rich regions of Odisha are already heavily congested due to large-scale movement of minerals. Steel companies have been investing in slurry pipelines, which can transport iron ore more efficiently, to address this issue. “More than 100 MT of slurry pipeline capacity is currently under development. But none of them is on stream as of now except the slurry pipelines which were established around 10 years back,” he said. Singla also stressed the need to strengthen beneficiation capacity to utilise low-grade iron ore. Odisha has significant beneficiation infrastructure, but plant load factors are currently below 50 per cent, indicating substantial idle capacity. “Around 15 to 20 per cent of India’s iron ore production is low-grade, with iron content between 45 and 55 per cent, which cannot be directly used by the steel industry,” he said and suggested that policy incentives, including reforms in royalty structures and support for capital investment, could help encourage greater utilisation of beneficiation facilities. Speaking at the event, Arun Kumar, regional controller of mines, Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), said as the world transitions towards clean and green energy, digital infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, access to these critical minerals has become a very strategic imperative for any nation. “India must therefore strengthen domestic exploration, develop a resilient supply chain and encourage value addition within the country. Several measures have been taken in terms of amendments in the mining laws, bringing in transparency by auctioning and improved exploration frameworks apart from faster environmental and forest clearances. Yes, there is a lot to be done on this issue and governance of the sector as such. Now, these reforms basically signal a clear shift from a regime of regulation,” he added. ### Related Stocks - [SAUD.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SAUD.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Weekly Recap: 500kt JV with Krakatau Steel and Q1 FY27 rev, FY25 rail cut](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294624023.md) - [REFILE-China July iron ore imports slide from June as thinning steel margins curb appetite](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296576258.md) - [Singapore police begin looking into iron ore trader Radiant World: Bloomberg](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296427119.md) - [This mining site could trigger an economic boom no one expected](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296384559.md) - [Endeavour Silver Provides Update on Blockade at its Terronera Mine | EXK Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296551382.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**