KIOCL seeks ministry nod for commercial use of iron ore tailings

KIOCL Limited, the public sector mining and exporter of iron ore pellets, has prepared a plan for commercial utilisation of iron ore tailings (mineral waste) dumped at a reservoir in Kudremukh. The company has sought an approval from the ministry of steel to de-silt Lakya Dam.

The company has dumped about 200 million metric tonnes of iron ore tailings at Lakya Dam and has proposed to make use of the tailings for manufacture of value added products like tiles and bricks.

KIOCL conducted mining for more than 25 years in Kudremukh until it stopped mining in 2005. In the process of beneficiation, it has dumped iron ore tailings in Lakya Dam, which was constructed for this purpose.

“These tailings contain iron contents of up to 12-13 per cent, which can be further beneficiated to 62-63 per cent. But, it is little costlier. So, we are trying to find an alternative solution for that. We are in dialogue with Indian Institute of Science and Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering in Bangalore. IISc study has concluded that these tailings can be effectively used to manufacture tiles and bricks and partly as a replacement for sand,” K Ranganath, chairman and managing director, KIOCL told Business Standard.

He said a detailed project report on de-silting of Lakya Dam for safety and environmental reasons and commercial utilisation of the tailings has been prepared and submitted to the ministry of steel for approval. “The removal of silt deposited in the dam is beneficial in many ways. We can increase the water holding capacity of the dam by removing the silt. We have also requested the government of Karnataka to accord permission for removal of tailings deposited in Lakya Dam,” he said.

Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology (KSCST), Bangalore and IISc Bangalore have conducted test on utilisation of Lakya Dam tailings as substitute for sand by mixing the tailings. It has been technically observed that the tailings perform optimally at 40 per cent replacement for sand in the cement mortar manufacture. This can also be utilised for manufacture of tiles and bricks.

If the Dam is not desilted, the tailings may flow down to river beds through dam discharges and cause environmental damages.

Meanwhile, KIOCL is also exploring the possibility of adopting latest technology for mining in Western Ghats area without disturbing flora and fauna in that area. The company has visited Kiruna underground iron ore mines at Sweden for examining suitability of the same for adoption in Western Ghat area, the company said.

According to a MoU signed by the company with ministry of steel for the year 2012-13, the company has set a target of producing 2.5 million metric tonnes of pellets, a growth of 47 per cent over the fiscal 2011-12. Presently, KIOCL is importing iron ore from NMDC’s Bailadila iron ore mines in Chhattisgarh via rail and sea route to Mangalore for making pellets.