Nalco set to pick majority stake in Indonesia mining firms

Indian state-owned aluminium producer Nalco is close to picking up majority stakes in two Indonesian mining firms, PTI reported on Sunday.

The deal, likely to be clinched in four months, would allow the company to get ownership of coal blocks with an estimated reserves of over 300 million tonnes, a top official of the company said.

"We have identified a 300-million-tonne coal block in Indonesia. Once bought, we will be able to use it for our proposed smelter in Indonesia and also import it to India," Nalco CMD C R Pradhan told PTI.

Nalco, the country's largest alumina producer based in Orissa, plans to set up an aluminium smelter and a 1,250 MW captive power unit in Indonesia. (*)