Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) has posted a 7 per cent rise in its profit-after-tax of Rs 217.19 crore in the first half of the current fiscal, a top company official said here.

The company’s PAT stood at Rs 202.58 in the corresponding period a year ago.

Gross margin during the six-month period under review has gone up by 7.86 per cent to Rs 346.07 crore against Rs 320.86 crore a year earlier.

Profit before tax also rose 7.55 per cent to Rs 327.08 crore from Rs 304.11 crore a year ago, MOIL Chairman & Managing Director G P Kundargi told PTI.

Kundargi said since the inception of MOIL, the company was operating only 10 mines in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Prospecting licences

On the back of steps taken in the last two years, the company has been able to obtain prospecting licences over 597 hectares in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra, he added.

The areas granted are adjacent to the company’s existing mines at 11 different locations. Upon execution of prospecting licences, the company has taken steps to conduct geophysical exploration and the work is in advance stage of completion, Kundargi said.

The Madhya Pradesh Government has in principle approved grant of mining leases over the said area to MOIL.

MOIL has been constantly carrying out R&D activities to explore the possibilities of improving and upgrading technologies on a continuous basis, he said.

EMD plant

Talking about their Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) plant, Kundargi said it is the only plant in India which manufactures EMD with indigenous technology.

EMD is a high-value product used in the manufacture of dry cells. The capacity of the plant is 1,000 tonnes per annum and is being operated to its full capacity.

Wind power

The CMD said that MOIL is also the first PSU in the country to set up wind power generation facility near Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. The present capacity is 20 MW. The power generated is partially consumed for captive use and the balance is being sold to the utilities. MOIL’s wind farm is being run efficiently with good Plate Leaf Filter.

The present level of production is about 1.13 million tonnes per annum and with the efforts being put in towards implementation of various mining projects, the output is set to improve in the coming years, Kundargi said.

H1 production

Production during the first half of this fiscal has increased by 6.83 per cent over the corresponding period a year ago. During April-Sept 2014, the company achieved a production of 5.16 lakh tonnes against 4.83 lakh tonnes during the same period a year ago.

As per the National Steel Policy, India’s steel production is set to improve in the coming years and there will be good demand for manganese ore, which is an essential input for steel-making in the form of ferro alloys, Kundargi added.

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