It is reported that Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines has extended the deadline for the submission of final bids for the development of the country's Hajigak iron ore deposit and of other deposits in surrounding areas to February 15, 2010.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in July 2009 the ministry selected seven participants in the tender process, including Indian companies Sesa Goa, Essar Minerals, Ispat Industries, JSW Steel, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Chinese company China Metallurgical Group, and the Saudi Arabian-Pakistani company Tuwairqi Steel Mills. The earlier deadline to submit the bids was December 30, 2009.
The winner will obtain a mining contract providing exploration and mining rights to Hajigak, which has an estimated resource base of about 1.8 billion mt with an estimated ore grade of 62 percent iron. The deposit is located in the mountainous province of Bamiyan, 130 km west of Kabul.