KIOCL Limited, formerly Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited is a central public sector undertaking under the

ownership Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

Ministry of Steel The Ministry of Steel is an executive branch agency of the Government of India that is responsible for formulating all policies regarding steel production, distribution and pricing in India. As of July 2021, the ministry is headed by a Secretary ...

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

with its head office and administrative activities in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. It has a pelletisation plant in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

and had an iron ore mine in

Kudremukh Kudremukha(ಕುದುರೆ ಮುಖ) is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station iron ore mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilo ...

(

Chikkamagaluru district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmagalur are parts of the Western Ghauts and the source of ...

). It is under the

. The Kudremukh mine, one of the largest iron ore mines in the world, was closed in 2006. The

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

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 Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

and

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

up to the pelletisation plant in

Panambur Panambur is one of the localities in Mangalore famous as a tourist spot and also a major industrial area. Panambur is also the site of Karnataka's only major port New Mangalore Port. Other major industries, namely Mangalore Chemicals & Fert ...

, adjacent to the premises of the

New Mangalore Port New Mangalore Port is a small water af, all-weather port at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka state in India, which is the deepest inner harbour on the west coast. It is the only major port of Karnataka and the seventh largest port in India. I ...

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 Sanduru (often written Sandur) is a town in Bellary District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative seat of Sanduru taluka. Sandur was ruled by the Ghorpade royal family of the Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: म ...

Bellary district Bellary, officially known as Ballari (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka un ...

Controversies

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 Kudremukha(ಕುದುರೆ ಮುಖ) is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station iron ore mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilo ...

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 The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister ...

ordered to immediately stop the work.

References

General references

Company overview
KIOCL Limited.
Brief overview of KIOCL limited
Ministry of Steel, Government of India. {{authority control Iron ore mining companies of India Companies based in Mangalore Non-renewable resource companies established in 1976 Indian companies established in 1976 Mining in Karnataka 1976 establishments in Karnataka Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange