Navratna PSU NALCO has been granted mining lease for a bauxite block in Andhra Pradesh, a move which would ensure supply of raw material to the leading aluminium maker for its extended capacity as well as new projects.



"The government has approved bauxite mining lease to NALCO in Andhra Pradesh. The matter was being processed and has been cleared in principle," Mines Secretary Santha Sheela Nair told PTI.



The block is estimated to have 85 million tonnes of bauxite reserves.



NALCO has plans to set up a 4.2 million tonne per annum (MTPA) bauxite mine and 1.4 MTPA alumina refinery complex in Andhra Pradesh involving an investment of Rs 7,000 crore.



The PSU had been eying Andhra Pradesh's rich reserve of bauxite for long. Bauxite is turned into alumina and then aluminium, which is used in automobiles, aircraft and other applications.