State-run steel maker SAIL has sought the Union environment ministry’s clearance for setting up a 2 million tonne per annum greenfield iron ore pellet plant at Jharkhand at an investment of Rs 2,388 crore.
The company has proposed to set up the plant within the premises of its existing integrated project at Bokaro in the state, a senior steel ministry official told The Indian Express.
The company has also decided to set up a 0.768 MT top charged coke oven battery facility at the same location.
SAIL’s representatives have told a meeting of the environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) on November 14 that both the pellet plant and the coke oven battery do require any additional land or forest land, the official said.
The iron ore required for these additional facilities will be sourced from SAIL’s mines at Bolani in Orissa and Kiriburu and Meghataburu deposits in Jharkhand . Limestone will be sourced from quarries of Kuteshwar in Madhya Pradesh and Bhawanathpur in Jharkhand and dolomite from Tulsidamar quarries also in Jharkhandm he said.
The company has planned to ramp up output at its Gua deposits to 10 million tonne per annum (MTPA) from 2.4 MTPA currently, Meghataburu to 6.5 MT from 4.3 MT as of now, Bolani mines to 10 MT from 4.1 currently.
The requirement for coal would be met mostly imported and a small percentage of indigenous coal would be sourced from Dugda, Monnidih, Rajrappa, Kathara, Mohuda and other domestic coal mines, the official said.
Of the total project cost of Rs 2,388 crore, Rs 167.18 crore has been budgeted towards environmental measures, the official said.
Source: The Indian Express