Pramod Agarwal

Pramod Agarwal (born September 1954) is a British Indian businessman who founded Zamin Ferrous in 2004, an international mining group that supplies direct reduction and blast furnace iron ore pellet fines to the global steel industry.

Early life

Agarwal was born in Bombay in September 1954. His family originates in a small municipality near Bhiwani, in Haryana State in northern India.

Agarwal diversified into fertilizers, steel, and other commodities. He invested in the ‘opening-up’ of former Soviet Union markets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, making several investments in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia, including a high-profile partnership with Tvoi Dom, a large Russian retail and department store.

Career After over 30 years in the global commodities business, Agarwal founded Zamin Group in 2004, an international mining group that supplies direct reduction and blast furnace iron ore pellet fines to the global steel industry.

With Zamin group, Agarwal invested heavily in South American economies. In 2013 the Bamin iron ore project in the Brazilian state of Bahia was sold to the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) for over US$1 Billion. Agarwal described Zamin Group's growing influence in Brazil as “a significant milestone for Zamin in its ambition to become a global player in iron ore mining.”

Zamin is suing Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation for $220 million, and is being counter-sued for $115 million, resulting from their joint venture in the Bamin iron-ore project in Bahia, Brazil, dating back to 2010. This dispute "promises to be one of the most unusual and juicy cases seen in the capital for some time", as there are "allegations of improper conduct by federal and state courts in foreign jurisdictions." The $3bn site has 2.5 billion tonnes of indicated and inferred iron ore deposits and is the biggest project in Uruguay's history. However, a change in Uruguay's mining laws has delayed its development. He paid £37.5 million for the terraced mansion, taking a £29 million mortgage from Royal Bank of Canada. As of April 2016, it is for sale with Savills for £32 million. Agarwal now lives at his nine-bedroom "country" house with four acres of grounds in Mill Hill, north London.