The Steel Maker eyeing the Mongolian region

New Delhi: Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) plans to set up a three million tonne per annum steel plant in Mongolia.

The cost of the plant could be $3 billion.The company is also trying to acquire at least two coking coal mines in the landlocked North Asian country.

The company is in talks with the Mongolian Government.

The Tavan Tolgoi region has attracted interest from miners from US, Japan, Russia, Australia, Brazil and Korea. China's biggest coal producer - Shenhua Energy Co, Erdos Chenglong Coal Corp, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Mongol 999, a consortium of Mongolian companies - are among the companies looking to acquire a share of the deposit.

International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL), a consortium of five public sector companies including SAIL, has also bid for a coal block in Mongolia with an estimated reserve of one billion tonnes.