Tata Steel raising Khondbond mine output to fuel Odisha unit

02 January 2018

Tata Steel is ramping up production at its Khondbond iron ore mine in Odisha to fuel expansion of the Kalinganagar plant, a company official said.

However, the requirement for coking coal will be met through imports and the company will keep looking for opportunities to bid for fresh leases of coking coal, the official who requested not to be quoted, said.

Last week, Tata Steel Board decided to expand the capacity of Kalinganagar plant in Odisha by 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) to 8 MTPA with an investment of Rs 23,500 crore.

When asked how the company will manage the increased supply of raw materials to boost production, the official said: “Tata Steel has been self sufficient as far as iron ore is concerned.”

He further said investment of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore is being done in the Khondbond mine that will supply iron ore to Kalinganagar steel unit.

Iron ore and coking coal are the two key raw materials for crude steel production.

On supply of the other raw material, he said the requirement of coking coal will be met through imports.

At present, the capacity of Kalinganagar plant where it produces automotive steel is 3 MTPA. The other unit at Jamshedpur has a capacity of 10 MTPA. The total capacity of Tata Steel India operations following the expansion will be 18 MTPA.

Source: PTI