Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda has assured Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel making company, that he would allot a suitable iron ore mine to the company for its Jharkhand project. Mining linkage had become a key issue for the company.

The uncertainty over investment of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) for setting up 12 million tonne steel project in Jharkhand by Arcelor Mittal is likely to be over following the meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday between the chief minister and the London-based managing director for iron ore investment, M P Singh, said sources here. Two general managers of the company's India office, Sanjeev Sengupta and P S Prasad, also attended the meeting.

State government sources here claimed that the officials of Arcelor Mittal told the Jharkhand chief minister that steel billionaire L N Mittal would not go back on his commitment regarding the Jharkhand project, for which an MoU had been signed in October 2006.

According to the sources in Koda's office here, the chief minister has assured the Arcelor Mittal managing director that the company's concern over iron ore supply will be met by March this year. The Mittal group has been demanding a mine which was suitable for mechanised mining.

Earlier, the chief minister had offered the Ankua iron ore mine in Singhbhum but the Mittal group, after examining the site, found it unsuitable for mechanised mining. The half-an-hour meeting with the chief minister had been fruitful.