JSW Steel mulls using Goan ore for Dolvi plant

The company plans to participate in e-auctions at Goa as and when the ore with 58% Fe is auctioned

Following the Supreme Court lifting the ban on mining in Goa, JSW Steel considering using iron ore from that state for its steel plant at Dolvi in Maharashtra.

The company operates a 3.3-million tonnes a year plant at Dolvi, requiring 5.5 million tonnes (mt) of ore a year. Currently, the company sources key raw materials for the plant from Odisha and Chhattisgarh; the material is available at a landed cost of Rs 3,600 a tonne.

The company has ruled out using Goan ore for its main steel plant at Toranagallu in Karnataka’s Bellary district. “The iron ore produced in Goa is of very low quality—-the iron content is 46-50 per cent; there is a limited quantity of the 55-58 per cent grade. We require 18-20 mt a year for our Karnataka steel plant and due to logistical constraints, we cannot use ore from Goa. But we are thinking of using it for our Dolvi plant in the future,” said Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel. He added the company planned to transport the ore through the sea route.

“The ore from Goa is of very low grade and has to be beneficiated before being used in the steel plant. We need to invest in setting up the beneficiation plant either at Dolvi or Goa. We have not worked out the plan in this regard,” Nowal told Business Standard after announcing the launch of the company’s new cold rolling mill (CRM-2) here on Wednesday.

Following the apex court’s directive, the Goa government has begun the sale of 11.5 mt of  ore at jetties and mine heads. To participate in the e-auctions, JSW Steel has registered with the mines and geology department. “We had tested the samples from the material lying at various jetties in Goa and found the material was not suitable for our requirement. However, we have information from miners that there is some quantity with 58 per cent iron content available at mine heads and we are waiting for that material to be auctioned. We will definitely participate and buy that material, as and when it is auctioned,” said P K Murugan, vice-president (commercial).

The company expects there is at least one mt of 58 per cent iron grade iron ore in Goa. “I feel by the end of May, some quantity of high-grade iron ore will be auctioned, which we intend to buy and blend with even higher grade ore for use in the Dolvi plant,” Murugan said.