India’s Jindal Steel has been declared the preferred bidder for the Thakurani-A1 iron ore block in Odisha with reserves of 50 million metric tons, strengthening its long-term raw material base, the company said March 11.

This acquisition will bolster the company’s iron ore supply as it expands its Angul plant capacity, the company said. Jindal Steel secured the bid for the 202-hectare block with a 101.2% premium.

Jindal Steel had earlier commissioned one of India’s largest blast furnaces at its Angul plant, with most of the additional raw materials intended to be sourced domestically, as reported by Platts.

The company is targeting steel capacity of 15.6 million mt/year for full-year 2026 (April-March), according to its declaration.

In 2025, India’s iron ore imports totaled 12.9 million mt, with 6.5 million mt sourced from Brazil, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

Other origins included Oman supplying 3.3 million mt, followed by Australia with 1.4 million mt, Russia with 573,358 mt, South Africa with 306,718 mt, Malaysia with 287,163 mt, Venezuela with 158,257 mt, Norway with 118,257 mt, and Iran supplying 104,513 mt, CAS data showed.

Among the registered intel receivers for 2025, Jindal Steel reportedly bought 106,836 mt, CAS data showed.

India’s year-to-date iron ore imports stand at 2.1 million mt, with 893,356 mt sourced from Brazil, 790,991 mt from Oman, 157,985 mt from Canada, 149,568 mt from Russia, 59,749 mt from Norway, 46,990 mt from Ukraine, 26,022 mt from Australia, CAS data showed March 11.