Orissa will soon write to the central government to seek a ban on the export of iron and chrome ore from the state, a minister said Sunday.

State Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty said his department has drafted a proposal and a committee headed by Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadai was examining it.

The committee has held two meetings in recent months, he told IANS.

He said Ghadai was currently undergoing treatment in a hospital in Singapore. The committee would resume examination of the draft after his return.

The proposal would later be sent to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for approval. Once it is approved by him, the government would send a formal proposal to the central government, said Mohanty.

The state has an output of about 75 million tonnes of iron ore annually and its secondary steel makers have been demanding that 70 percent of the total ore be set aside for them as the raw material for them was not adequate.

A steel maker said they have been facing trouble because of the closure of more then half of the state's nearly 600 iron ore mines since the past one year after the government launched a crackdown on illegal mining.