SAIL-led group gets a big bite of Afghan mining pie

New Delhi : A month after signing a strategic partnership deal with Afghanistan, a consortium of Indian companies bagged mining rights for three of the four iron ore blocks in the Hajigak deposit in mountainous Bamiyan province, 130 kilometre west of the capital, Kabul.

Against the backdrop of the US’ indication to withdraw troops from the insurgency-ridden nation beginning 2014, the development would help India emerge as one of Afghanistan’s biggest economic partners and allow forging security channels between the two neighbours.

Led by Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the consortium of public and private sector companies has gained access to 1.28 billion tonnes of high grade iron ore, a critical input for steel making.