For those looking for the...

For those looking for the link
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/indl-goods-/-svs/metals-mining/actions-not-miracles-bring-about-big-change-nmdcs-rana-som/articleshow/10699142.cms

or those who are too lazy to click on the link. Here is the article.

(for those who are too lazy to read the full article below, here is the quote you are looking for "Legacy is set to become NMDC's Australian arm. We have plans to buy Wonarah and get a sizeable stake in a $1.2-billion phosphate project that is being developed," Som said")

(For those too silly to understand the above quote- NMDC is still well on board to buy a large chunk of MAK's Australian phosphate project and fund it through debt, it may take longer than the 5 minutes most punters are prepared to give a foreign company willing to invest over a billion dollars)

"KOLKATA: Rana Som, who scripted National Mineral Development Corp's transformation from an iron-ore miner to a minerals giant that is also getting into steel, is stepping down as chairman and managing director next month, marking the end of a four-year term in which he has raised the bar for his peers.

A post-graduate in economics and management, Som joined NMDC in 2007 after a stint at Hindustan Copper, another public sector undertaking.

Under Som's leadership, NMDC's revenues more than doubled to 11,369 crore in 2011. NMDC, the lone supplier of raw material to large private steelmakers, recently stoked controversy by teaming up with Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov to form a steel joint venture in India, which many view as an attempt by the Russian to take on industrialist LN Mittal in the country.

The mining company has also won government approval to set up a steel plant in Chhattisgarh, a move aimed at giving back to the community where it has been operating for a couple of decades now. "If you want to bring a big change, you must realise that no miracle works.

You just have to keep working through a large number of small actions on a sustained basis," Som told ET. Som was known as a turnaround strategist at Hindustan Copper, but that tag was of little use in NMDC, a company where finances were not a worry.

"NMDC had strong financial, operational and managerial foundation, labour relations, asset management and technology," he said. Inspired by economist John Kenneth Galbraith's book 'The Affluent Society', Som introduced three features - build a superstructure to sustain the company, get into vertical integration and create space for horizontal integration into other minerals.

Horizontal integration and focus on food security saw the iron-ore producer get into coal mining and hunt for companies producing phosphatic fertilisers. Som has also spearheaded NMDC's plan to build a 15,000-crore steel plant in the mineral-rich Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, which is plagued by Maoist insurgency.

When the mining company's plan to get into steelmaking raised eyebrows, Som is reported to have said, "Steel plants are made by experts, not steel companies." His gambit has paid off. NMDC, which is building the plant at Nagarnar on its own, now has a strong acceptance in the state.

Som has won over the Maoists with his plan to impart basic technical skills to the indigenous people and absorb them into the plant once it becomes operational. The strategy has ensured that Maoists don't hinder NMDC's operations in the region.

Under Som, NMDC has also expanded geographically, hedging its bets on different minerals. In September, NMDC bought 50% stake in Australia's Legacy Iron Ore.

"Legacy is set to become NMDC's Australian arm. We have plans to buy Wonarah and get a sizeable stake in a $1.2-billion phosphate project that is being developed," Som said, adding that NMDC will also get a share of the prospects of Mount Bevan, a large iron ore property in Western Australia where the two companies will invest nearly $1.3 billion.

The company is also scouting for opportunities in Russia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, US, Canada, Australia and Brazil. NMDC will also mine gold in Tanzania, where Som said the prospects match those in South Africa and Ghana. The mining lease for the venture is expected this month, he said. In Mozambique, NMDC has picked up 26% stake in Sunflag Iron & Steel's coal venture.

Strategic thinking is clearly another of Som's hallmarks. "In iron ore, we will get into the exploration side only, which requires less investment and gets ready in five to seven years," Som said. "But in coking coal we will be very aggressive. We are looking at prospects in Russia and in Alabama in the US.

But coal is a more complex evaluation and hence requires more time." It is little wonder then that the Financial Times database says "he is recognised in the field of mergers and acquisitions, specially relating to mineral assets".

Outlining his vision for NMDC, he said, "We want to be a sensitive company that stands on its values through both vertical and horizontal integration; whose existence is supported by people." Som's successors now need to ensure this, a task that he has made considerably easier by doing the initial hard work."

Congrats to all those who got through the article and the extra parentheses added to comment. MAK is definitely a goer but the timeline may take til Christmas- see previous articles and comments by the Indian company NMDC as to their timelines for wrapping up the 4 projects on the go. The share price will reach $1 within a month of the signing of the deal. You do not organise $1 billion of funding, get $20-40 mil cash and not end up with a company capitalized at $200 mil.