NMDC has already inked a memorandum of understanding to acquire up to 50 per cent stake in Australian mineral exploration company Legacy Iron Ore. It is likely to finalise a sales-purchase agreement by September. Legacy has interests in gold and manganese besides iron ore, and the MoU gives access to NMDC to get into Australia. It will give Legacy the opportunity to source and secure additional resource projects for development and financing, with the backing of NMDC as the company's biggest shareholder.
While NMDC produces about 30 million tonnes of iron ore, Legacy holds highly prospective iron ore tenements in the central Yilgarn and Pilbara areas of Western Australia. Besides the assets in Australia, the state-run firm is eyeing a coking coal mine in Mozambique.
