The Steel Ministry has asked its undertakings, SAIL and NMDC, to explore mineral assets abroad to help secure long-term raw material requirements and support input costs, an official said.
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is India’s largest public sector steel-making entity, and NMDC is the country’s leading iron ore player.
On a query on whether steel PSUs, especially SAIL and NMDC, have been asked to look for mining assets abroad, the senior ministry official replied in the affirmative.
The move will help secure future requirements and reduce cost, the official said without sharing further details.
Iron ore and coking coal are two basic raw materials needed to produce steel, besides limestone and pulverised coal injection (PCI Coal), among others.
While iron ore is available in abundance in the country, Indian steel makers, including SAIL, remain heavily dependent on imports for 85-90 per cent of their coking coal requirements from countries such as Australia and Mozambique. Similarly, limestone is also imported from the West Asia region.
Private steelmaker JSW Steel has also acquired coking coal assets abroad as part of its plan to achieve 50 per cent of its raw material requirements through captive sources.
NMDC, mainly operating in the iron ore production space, is looking to diversify into exploration of other minerals to meet the growing needs of various industries, including steel.
The company’s Chairman Amitava Mukherjee recently said that by 2030, his goal is to earn at least 20 per cent of revenues from the sale of minerals other than iron ore.
Published on October 4, 2026
