Mumbai, July 17 -- Billionaires Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Naveen Jindal and Anil Agarwal are among the industrialists eyeing Odisha's Karlapat bauxite block, one of India's largest untapped bauxite deposits, according to people familiar with the matter.

The block, located in the state's Kalahandi district, was put up for auction by the state government on 29 May along with 10 other mineral blocks. All 11 blocks have been classified as virgin, meaning they have never been mined.

Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries, Hindalco Industries, Vedanta Aluminium, Naveen Jindal-backed Powercem and state-run Coal India have purchased tender documents for the Karlapat block, the people cited above said on condition of ano...