Left to Right - Md, Actg Indian
Ambassador Mr Viswajit, Mr Baijal, Minister of
mines Mr Monnet Emmanuel Leon, Jean Likane Yagui,
MD of SODEMI and Momy Guei |
Tata Steel Limited and SODEMI (state owned company for
mineral development) announced today that they have
entered into Joint Venture agreement (JVA) for the
development of Mount Nimba Iron ore deposits in Ivory
Coast (West Africa).
The JV was signed in presence of Mr. Monnet Emmanuel
Leon, Hon Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr. Momy Guei,
Chairman of SODEMI, Mr. Jean Likane, MD, SODEMI, Mr. B
Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel, Mr. A D Baijal, Vice
President (Global Mineral Resources) Tata Steel and
other officials from the Government of Ivory Coast and Tata Steel. The project will be implemented by a joint
venture company, wherein Tata Steel will have a major
shareholding.
Mr. Monnet Emmanuel Leon, Hon Minister of Mines and
Energy mentioned "Ivory Coast is very happy to have
identified Tata Steel as its partner for this mega
project in Iron Ore. It is a very major step towards
development of the country and will improve lives of
people in many ways. We are quite convinced that Tatas
have the technical and financial capability along with
the experience to undertake this project to its
successful implementation". Mr Jean Likane YAGUI,
Managing Director of SODEMI said "Together with Tata
Steel, we are writing a new chapter in the history of
Ivory Coast today".
Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel said,
"Tata Steel is very pleased to have signed this
Agreement. Tata Steel has vast experience of mining,
spanning over several decades and will be introducing
best practices for mining geology environment and
project management. It is Tata's philosophy to
participate and be a part of a country's development
process and Tata Steel, through its well known social
initiatives will make a positive impact on improving the
quality of life of the people of Ivory Coast. We value
our partnership with SODEMI and the Government. of Ivory
Coast and we are sure that this partnership will go from
strength to strength in the years to come and help the
Country gain its rightful position in the mining sector."
The initial phase will involve exploration and
detailed feasibility assessments followed by
construction of the mine and beneficiation facilities.
The iron ore from this project will be supplied to Tata
Steel Group facilities especially those located in the
United Kingdom and Netherlands. The Mt Nimba deposit,
spread over 3 countries - Liberia, Guinea and Ivory
Coast, is one of the biggest in the West Africa.
About Tata Steel
Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated
private sector steel company, Tata Steel in 2006 on a
combined basis is the world's sixth largest steel
producer in terms of actual crude steel production with
geographic footprints in India, South East Asia, UK and
Europe. With the recent acquisition of Corus Limited,
the combined enterprise has an aggregate crude steel
production capacity of around 28.1 million tonnes with
approximately 82,700 employees across the four
continents.
Tata Steel's mines, collieries and Jamshedpur works
in India are ISO 14001 certified for environment
management. The company's Jamshedpur steel works along
with its Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division, have been
conferred the SA 8000 certification for work conditions
and improvements in the workplace - the first in the
world. Tata Steel which has also set benchmarks in the
fields of corporate social responsibility and corporate
governance firmly believes in improving the quality of
life of its employees and the communities it serves.
About SODEMI
SODEMI is a 100% state owned company formed for
development of the mineral resources in the country. It
already has a manganese mining operation in Ivory Coast
and a partnership for gold mining and another for
drilling. For further information, please visit
www.sodemi.com.
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