Indian iron-ore major NMDC would revive its joint venture (JV) with South Africa’s Kopano Ke Matla Investment Company to spearhead acquisitions of at least two coal assets in the African nation.

An official in India’s Steel Ministry said that the JV – Kopano NMDC Minerals – was currently in the process of carrying out due diligence on one coal asset in South Africa and preparations were under way to put in bids for another coal asset.

However, the official said that Kopano NMDC, as part of its strategy for acquiring mineral assets in South Africa, would restrict its participation to a maximum of 50% equity in the entity controlling the coal assets, but refused to disclose more.

NMDC, India’s largest iron-ore miner, is majority-owned by government and under administrative control of the Steel Ministry. Kopano Ke Matla Investment Company is the investment arm of the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

According to a Ministry official, the NMDC-Kopano JV was formed almost four years ago but for several internal and external reasons, the venture had failed to clinch any acquisition deals.

However, with the JV having been streamlined in operational terms, and considering the shortage of coal supplies in domestic Indian markets, Kopano NMDC would now aggressively scout and bid for coal assets in South Africa, the official said, declining to give any timelines for completion of such deals.

The JV had initially planned to acquire a range of mineral assets, including iron-ore, manganese and coal, in South Africa, but the strategic objectives had now been refined to focus on coal assets instead of a wider portfolio, the official added.

However, NMDC’s record for overseas acquisitions has been tardy since 2010. It has failed to make any significant foreign investments, barring in Legacy Iron Ore, in Australia, in 2011, which drew criticism from the national auditors.

Earlier this year, the comptroller and auditor-general observed: “NMDC has been making efforts to acquire mines abroad but no specific strategy has been formulated. The company needs to work out a strategy on reserve accretion and acquisition of new mining areas in India and abroad to enhance production while maintaining operations in the long term.”