| Rebutting the Jharkhand government’s contention that SAIL does not need the full reserve of iron ore from the Chiria mines, a top government official has warned that the state-run steel behemoth’s expansion plans could be seriously hit if the mine is denied to it.
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| “The Jharkhand government has said that if the erstwhile Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) steel plant’s extraction in the past was considered, SAIL would not need the entire 3 billion tonne of iron ore from Chiria. This is a flawed argument as it ignores the fact that IISCO has been merged with SAIL and the latter is executing major expansion programmes,” the official said.
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| He argued that since IISCO was earlier under BIFR, its utilisation of raw materials was not substantial. The Chiria and Gua mines were thus producing only as per requirements.
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| “But now, the scenario is entirely different as IISCO’s capacity expansion is underway, whereby its annual production is scheduled to be enhanced from the current 0.9 million tonnes to 2.9 MT per annum by 2010-11 and 5 MT per annum by 2019-20,” the official added.
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| SAIL is increasing its production capacity to 26.2 MT by 2010 and this includes raising the production at its Bokaro steel plant to 7.44 MT by 2011.
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| “SAIL is also planning to set up a 12 million tonne greenfield steel plant in Jharkhand. So, for all these projects, we would be needing more iron ore. If SAIL is not given Chiria, then its expansion plans could be jeopardised,” he said.
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| A bird’s eye view of the PSU’s iron ore requirements for the next 50 years in Jharkhand reveals that it would need 3,164 MT, including 1,600 MT for raising the capacity of its Bokaro Plant, 454 MT for enhancing production of IISCO and 1,110 MT for its proposed greenfield project in the state, the official said.
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| “It is very surprising that when Chiria was put on the block some years ago, there were no takers. It was IISCO and now SAIL which have been nurturing it. But now that the commodity cycle is at an all-time high, there are many claimants. But what happens to all the development activities carried out by these PSUs?” the official asked.
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| While SAIL would need 5,736 MT of iron ore in the next 50 years, it only has 3,443 MT in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
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| “So, clearly, the steel giant has no surplus iron ore in its domain. In fact, it needs new reserves for catering to its growing needs and so it has applied for mining leases in the Ghatkuri and Meghataburu range,” he said.
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| Even the Prime Minister’s Office is understood to have asked the Madhu Koda government to actively consider giving Chiria to SAIL and allocate 1 billion tonnes immediately and another billion tonnes through negotiations.
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| The world’s biggest steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal too is keen to have a slice of the Chiria mines for its proposed 10 MT integrated steel plant in Jharkhand.
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| After the state government refused to extend the leaqsing period for the mines, SAIL approached the mining tribunal, which ruled in its favour. Thereafter, the state government approached the Jharkhand High Court on the matter. |
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