KIOCL Limited, formerly Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited is a Government of India enterprise with its head office and administrative activities in Bangalore. It has a pelletization plant in Mangalore and had an iron ore mine in Kudremukh (Chikkamagaluru district). The Kudremukh mine, one of the largest iron ore mines in the world, was closed in 2006.
The captive mining took place at Kudremukh on the Western Ghats range. The mined ore was transported 110 km through slurry pipelines running through the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada up to the pelletization plant in Panambur, adjacent to the premises of the New Mangalore Port.
The pellet plant with a capacity of 3.5 million tons per annum was commissioned at Mangalore in 1987. The plant was stopped in 2011 but in 2014 the plant resumed producing and exporting pellets, running on ores supplied by NMDC Limited. The pellets have been shipped to countries like China, Iran, Japan, and Taiwan.
In 2017 there were plans to restart captive mining operations, now at Sanduru in Bellary district.
The mining lease was given to KIOCL in Kudremukh for a period of 25 years and was supposed to be closed by December 2001.
Kudremukh area is a biodiversity hotspot, with Kudremukh national park nearby. The mining lease was temporarily extended; however, it was completely stopped in 2006 due to environmental reasons.
In 2016 KIOCL planned to develop a commercial resort in the Kudremukh national park, refurbishing some of its buildings, unused since the closure of the mine. The project had not obtained an environmental clearance. In October 2016 the Ministry of Environment and Forests ordered to immediately stop the work.
The mid-cap stock rose up to 12.66% to 167.30 on the BSE. The stock has lost 56.14% during the last one year and since the beginning of this year
The KIOCL stock rose in early trade today after the government said it would reduce its stake in the firm through a follow-up offering. The mid-cap stock rose up to 12.66% to 167.30 on the BSE. The stock has lost 56.14% during the last year and since the beginning of this year. The stock is trading above its 50 days moving an average of 153.81 but below its 200 days moving an average of 170.15 on the BSE.
The stock opened with a gain of 2.49% at 152.20 levels on the BSE. The stock has been raining for the last three days and has risen 10.58% in the period.
The government owns 99% stake in the firm with a shareholding of 62.81 crore shares. KIOCL is occupied in mechanized iron ore pellets. The company's products include pellets and pig iron castings. It operates a pellet mechanized plant in Mangalore. Its services include Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contracts.
The government is racing against time to achieve disinvestment target for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
The government faces the risk of missing its divestment target for the year, has garnered less than half the Rs 80,000 crore targeted amount.
As against the budgeted disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore, the government has so far raised Rs 34,000 crore by selling the minority stake in CPSEs and ETFs.
