The group has acquired an Iron Ore asset from Australian Exchange-listed mining company Ferrum Crescent Iron Ore Company. The asset is located in Limpopo Province of South Africa and has JORC compliant Resources of 307 Million Tonnes of Magnetite Iron Ore. Most of the approvals are in place. However, water use licence would have to be applied with DWS. As per Technical Scoping work, the project envisages production of Iron Ore Concentrate of 1.3 MTPA from 2.86 MTPA of ROM and its logistics/marketability to local consumers as well as the overseas market through Richards Bay Coal Terminal and subsequently for production of Iron Ore Pellets @ 1.2 MTPA in modules (0.6 MTPA) and its marketing thereof. The company is in process to undertake Feasibility Studies (Basic/Detailed Engineering) of the project.
Atha Group has focused on its core industries of mining and energy (B2B) over the past decade, which is cyclical and regulatory in nature. It is now looking forward towards the next stage of diversification in potentially unrelated businesses and new sectors as a part of its growth strategy - profitable and high growth industries like FMCG & Micro-Finance (B2C) to build a brand presence and target new audiences in the market. The same will be achieved in de-risking group’s business by transforming focus from government regulated spaces to non-regulated consumer-facing business, together with contributing to the bottom line and improving the effectiveness of the organisation. Atha leadership had set ambitious growth aspirations for the next 5-10 years. To achieve its growth target, the group wants to build a balanced portfolio by exploring geographic expansion, inorganic growth, and new business in the form of FMCG diversification. It is coupled with the belief that growth comes from expanding the footprint and offering to tap new markets. FMCG market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.86 per cent and is expected to reach US$ 103.70 billion by 2020 from US$ 52.75 billion in FY18. It is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian economy. India’s household and personal care is the leading segment, accounting for 50 per cent of the overall market, healthcare (31 per cent) and food and beverages (19 per cent) comes next in terms of market share.