India's NMDC eyes metallurgical coal assets in Indonesia, Australia

India's largest iron ore producer NMDC is actively looking to acquire metallurgical coal mines in Indonesia and Australia, NMDC's Chairman and Managing Director Amitava Mukherjee said at the India Steel 2025 conference on April 24.

"There are companies that are exiting the space of met coal, but the window of negotiation with them is very, very thin ... so we have to decide very fast and here we, as a government company, we have some constraints, but we are trying to locate good coking coal assets in Indonesia and in Australia if that's possible," Mukherjee said.

He refused to divulge the details of the assets they are looking into due to confidentiality reasons, but said they are pursuing mines in Indonesia and Australia as they received leads in those countries.

"This is one of the top most priority because we know that we have a captive market in India going forward for the next 50 to 60 years... unless we get hydrogen or some new alternative, so coking coal requirement will be there, so we see that as a business opportunity and also as an opportunity to serve the nation," Mukherjee added.

Apart from iron ore, NMDC is also involved in gold mining projects in Australia and has been exploring lithium mining opportunities in Australia and Africa.

Indian companies have been increasingly looking to secure raw materials, specifically coking coal as the country is majorly dependent on imports.

Indian steelmaker JSW Steel last year acquired an indirect economic interest in an Australia-based M Res NSW, which owns 30% interest in Golden M, in a deal that gave JSW exposure to South32's Illawarra met coal business in Australia.