March 28: Six international companies have been shortlisted for the detailed feasibility study of Dhaubadi iron mine.

The six companies shortlisted for the detailed feasibility study of Hupsekot-based iron mine in East Nawalparasi are from India, China, the UK, Canada and Austria.

Dr. Janak Bahadur Chand, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dhaubadi Iron Company Limited informed that all the companies that had applied for the feasibility study have been shortlisted.

According to Chand, two Chinese companies -- Capital Engineering and Research Incorporation Limited and China in Association with Development Support Consult, Canada's Mycon International Limited JV ERMC, India's Duster-SRK-Jade JV, England's London Road and Austria's Hurst Wissinger Consulting GMBH JV have been shortlisted for the feasibility study.

Chand informed that one of the six shortlisted companies will conduct the feasibility study of the iron in Dhaubadi mine of East Nawalparasi. He said that the project office has called for financial and technical proposals from the shortlisted companies.

One of the selected companies will submit the feasibility study report within 3/4 months. Although preliminary data show that the mine has 100 million metric tons of iron reserves, a recent study conducted by the company with the participation of an expert team found that the capacity of the ore storage to be even more.

Chand informed that the mine has 150 million metric tons of iron reserves. He said that the details had been obtained through drilling. The company has informed that the detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared only after the completion of the feasibility study.

International bids will also be invited for the DPR. A test conducted in China has already confirmed that iron and billets can be made from iron ore present in the mine.

However, Chand said that a detailed feasibility study would provide information on how much iron can be extracted commercially from the mine. Stating that the feasibility study will be completed in the current fiscal year, he informed that the DPR report will not be ready this year.

He said that they are working with international companies as mining is being done for the first time in Nepal. He said that commercial production from the Dhaubadi iron mile will take some more time. The mine was explored for the first time almost a decade ago.