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A scene of Dhaubadi area.

Dhaubadi Iron Company Limited has prepared a plan for mining iron ore at its mining site located in Hupsekot Rural Municipality-5, Dhaubadi, Nawalparasi.

The company has submitted a report to the Department of Mines and Geology with a plan to extract 96 million tonnes of iron ore from the mine spread over about 41 square kilometers.

The mining area has been divided into two parts: the Dhaubadi Pokhari block and the Durlung block. The Dhaubadi Pokhari block covers 25 square kilometers, while the Durlung block spans 16 square kilometers. After this plan is approved, the company has said it will carry out further exploration and mining operations related to the iron deposits.

Dhaubadi Iron Company Limited was established in 2076BS with the aim of commercially producing iron. It is an undertaking of the Government of Nepal. The company's director, Shailesh Kumar Thapa, informed that drilling work of 1,500 meters was completed at 12 different locations to test underground iron ore samples.

The company has stated that the environmental impact assessment work is currently underway and the work to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) will also be started soon.

Director Thapa said that once the mine is operational, the iron products produced are expected to replace about 25 percent of the country's overall import demand.

He believes that mining operations will create a large number of jobs and contribute to the national economy. The company has stated that the necessary infrastructure and road upgrades to reach the mine are underway.