State-owned iron ore miner NMDC is set to form a joint venture agreement with Mosi Oa Tnuya Development Company (MOTDC), a firm owned by the Zimbabwe government, for development of exploration assets, according to a Steel Ministry official.
The move would help ensure augmentation of NMDC's mineral reserves and globalisation of its operations.
The broad framework of the proposed joint venture has been approved by the corresponding ministry of the African nation and a draft Board note for forming the joint venture has been circulated for approval, the ministry official said.
The structure of the joint venture is not yet firmed up and will be done after mutual discussion, he said.
"Technical director of MOTDC has forwarded a letter of their minister, which confirms the acceptance of the broad framework of the joint venture. The draft board note for forming the joint venture has been circulated."
The two firms had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last year providing NMDC the exclusivity for taking part in mineral projects in the African nation.
NMDC has been working on developing mineral assets abroad with a view of getting access raw material for domestic steel industry.
The state-owned miner had in 2011 acquired Australia's Legacy Iron Ore to expand its global presence. The company has been exploring opportunities to acquire stakes in coking coal mines and rock phosphate projects.
Domestically, it is enhancing its iron ore capacity to 48 MT from 32 MT at present. The expansion would be gradually commissioned from June and completed by December this year.
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