India's steel-to-power conglomerate JSW Group will invest 26 billion rupees ($301.2 million) to set up operations at two copper mines, the company said on Monday, foraying into mining non-ferrous metals as steel prices fall.

JSW Group has a won a bid to secure two copper mining blocks in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand from state-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd., expanding its business into mining of non-ferrous metals.

JSW Group secured the contract via a competitive bidding process for a 20-year term, with the possibility of a ten-year extension.

India's JSW Steel reported a bigger-than-expected drop in third-quarter profit on Friday as lower prices and tepid demand continued to hurt the country's top steelmaker. Its consolidated net profit plunged 70% year-on-year to 7.