India Consortium to Decide on Afghan Gold, Copper Projects Soon -Executive | Fox Business
A consortium of Indian state-owned companies will complete due diligence on a series of copper and gold projects in Afghanistan on June 5, and will make a final decision on whether to bid on the projects in coming weeks, a senior executive at one of the companies said Monday.
Shakeel Ahmed, managing director of state-run Hindustan Copper Ltd. (513599.BY), one of the companies in the consortium, said final bids must be submitted by the first or second week of July.
The consortium also includes Steel Authority of India Ltd. (500113.BY), National Aluminum Co. (532234.BY) and Mineral Exploration Corp.
Ahmed said in April that his company was one of four Indian state-owned entities on a shortlist to bid for four projects in the provinces of Ghazni, Badakhshan, Herat and Sar-e Pol.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines said companies from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Australia had also expressed interest in the projects.
Ahmed said he wasn't worried about security in Afghanistan and described the political climate there as "quite conducive to investment."
Companies planning to operate in Afghanistan could face heightened security concerns in coming years. Experts say security could deteriorate after the bulk of foreign troops pull out beginning in 2014.
The Taliban bombed the Indian Embassy in Kabul in 2009, putting off some potential Indian investors.
However, another Indian consortium of state-owned and private companies in November won rights to the Hajigak iron ore mines in Bamiyan province, a $14 billion project.
Resource-rich Afghanistan has desperately sought foreign investors. China made the first big-ticket bet on Afghan mines, winning a concession to develop the $3 billion Mes Aynak copper mine southeast of Kabul in 2007.
India set to ink coal exploration pact with Afghanistan - Indian Express
In a bid to further consolidate India’s growing economic interests in Afghanistan, coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is all set to lead a high-level delegation to Kabul over the next fortnight to ink a pact with the Afghan mines ministry. The pact will pave way for Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries to explore coal deposits in the country.
Responding to a recent request by Afghan mines minister Wahidullah Shahrani that Indian coal companies need to employ their expertise to help his country develop the untapped coal basins, the coal ministry has sought clearance from the ministry of external affairs for the visit this month. According to highly-placed sources in the coal ministry, the delegation would comprise Coal India Limited chairman S Narsing Rao and his counterpart from Sinagreni Collieries Company Limited Sutirtha Bhattacharya.
During the visit, the delegation will be briefed in detail on the investment opportunities in the country’s coal sector. “Following the high-level meetings, both the sides would ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at propelling investments in the Afghanistan’s mineral sector, especially coal,” a senior coal ministry official told The Indian Express.
Seeking to promote Indian investments, the Hamid Karzai government has already signed a strategic agreement to further cooperation in areas of minerals and hydrocarbons. Shahrani’s ministry has also inked MoUs with Indian ministries of commerce, mines, petroleum and steel.
“I would like to mention that Afghanistan has rich reserves of coking coal which we would be putting on bid in the near future. Signing of this bilateral cooperation MoU will greatly boost the interest of Indian public and private sector companies to invest in these coal mines in Afghanistan,” Shahrani said in his letter to Jaiswal. Reminding that India and Afghanistan have “age-old ties” the Afghan mines minister has asked Jaiswal to help in further strengthening the bilateral ties. The government of India has emerged as the biggest donor for projects aimed at giving Afghanistan a facelift. It has already invested about Rs 10,000 crore in various projects.
A consortium of Indian steel companies led by SAIL has recently been awarded the bid to explore the Hajigak iron ore mines in the country’s Bamiyan province. The syndicate has also planned to set up a steel plant and allied infrastructure worth Rs 40,000 crore provided it is extended all necessary assistance to enable the same.
According to Shahrani, Afghanistan has over $2.5 trillion of untapped mineral resources. Coal is primarily located within a Jurassic belt from the northern provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan through the center of the country and towards the west in Herat, according to Afghan mines ministry.
A consortium of Indian state-owned companies will complete due diligence on a series of copper and gold projects in Afghanistan on June 5, and will make a final decision on whether to bid on the projects in coming weeks, a senior executive at one of the companies said Monday.
Shakeel Ahmed, managing director of state-run Hindustan Copper Ltd. (513599.BY), one of the companies in the consortium, said final bids must be submitted by the first or second week of July.
The consortium also includes Steel Authority of India Ltd. (500113.BY), National Aluminum Co. (532234.BY) and Mineral Exploration Corp.
Ahmed said in April that his company was one of four Indian state-owned entities on a shortlist to bid for four projects in the provinces of Ghazni, Badakhshan, Herat and Sar-e Pol.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines said companies from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Australia had also expressed interest in the projects.
Ahmed said he wasn't worried about security in Afghanistan and described the political climate there as "quite conducive to investment."
Companies planning to operate in Afghanistan could face heightened security concerns in coming years. Experts say security could deteriorate after the bulk of foreign troops pull out beginning in 2014.
The Taliban bombed the Indian Embassy in Kabul in 2009, putting off some potential Indian investors.
However, another Indian consortium of state-owned and private companies in November won rights to the Hajigak iron ore mines in Bamiyan province, a $14 billion project.
Resource-rich Afghanistan has desperately sought foreign investors. China made the first big-ticket bet on Afghan mines, winning a concession to develop the $3 billion Mes Aynak copper mine southeast of Kabul in 2007.
India set to ink coal exploration pact with Afghanistan - Indian Express
In a bid to further consolidate India’s growing economic interests in Afghanistan, coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is all set to lead a high-level delegation to Kabul over the next fortnight to ink a pact with the Afghan mines ministry. The pact will pave way for Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries to explore coal deposits in the country.
Responding to a recent request by Afghan mines minister Wahidullah Shahrani that Indian coal companies need to employ their expertise to help his country develop the untapped coal basins, the coal ministry has sought clearance from the ministry of external affairs for the visit this month. According to highly-placed sources in the coal ministry, the delegation would comprise Coal India Limited chairman S Narsing Rao and his counterpart from Sinagreni Collieries Company Limited Sutirtha Bhattacharya.
During the visit, the delegation will be briefed in detail on the investment opportunities in the country’s coal sector. “Following the high-level meetings, both the sides would ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at propelling investments in the Afghanistan’s mineral sector, especially coal,” a senior coal ministry official told The Indian Express.
Seeking to promote Indian investments, the Hamid Karzai government has already signed a strategic agreement to further cooperation in areas of minerals and hydrocarbons. Shahrani’s ministry has also inked MoUs with Indian ministries of commerce, mines, petroleum and steel.
“I would like to mention that Afghanistan has rich reserves of coking coal which we would be putting on bid in the near future. Signing of this bilateral cooperation MoU will greatly boost the interest of Indian public and private sector companies to invest in these coal mines in Afghanistan,” Shahrani said in his letter to Jaiswal. Reminding that India and Afghanistan have “age-old ties” the Afghan mines minister has asked Jaiswal to help in further strengthening the bilateral ties. The government of India has emerged as the biggest donor for projects aimed at giving Afghanistan a facelift. It has already invested about Rs 10,000 crore in various projects.
A consortium of Indian steel companies led by SAIL has recently been awarded the bid to explore the Hajigak iron ore mines in the country’s Bamiyan province. The syndicate has also planned to set up a steel plant and allied infrastructure worth Rs 40,000 crore provided it is extended all necessary assistance to enable the same.
According to Shahrani, Afghanistan has over $2.5 trillion of untapped mineral resources. Coal is primarily located within a Jurassic belt from the northern provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan through the center of the country and towards the west in Herat, according to Afghan mines ministry.
