Tata Steel's first greenfield ferro-chrome plant starts in Odisha

Tata Steel on Tuesday announced that its Rs 542 crore ferro-chrome greenfield plant at Gopalpur Industrial Park in Odisha has commenced production.

"The recently-commissioned ferro-chrome plant of Tata Steel at Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district of Odisha, has achieved a major milestone with the first ever production of ferro-chrome on February 25, 2017, in compliance with all technical parameters," a company statement said.

As part of the anchor investment in Tata Steel's Gopalpur Industrial Park, the ferro-chrome plant has an installed capacity of 55,000 tonne per annum (tpa).

A unique environment-friendly plant with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and technology such as effluent treatment and sewage treatment plants, it was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on November 30, 2016.

"This marks the completion of the commissioning of the ferro-chrome plant. It also goes a long way in consolidating our footprint in Odisha and the long-standing partnership with the state towards industrial progress of the region," said D.B. Sundara Ramam, Tata Steels' Executive-in-Charge, Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division.

The plant has a 100 per cent water harvesting facility that caters to most of its water requirements. It has an indigenously built semi-closed hybrid furnace.

It is the first plant in India to use briquetting method of chrome ore fines agglomeration. Chromite briquettes used for making ferro-chrome have been produced by the briquetting plant at the ferro-chrome plant complex. The briquetting plant had commenced production on January 23.

For the plant, the steel major is sourcing chrome ore from its chromite mine at Sukinda in the state's Jajpur district, said the company.

Besides the plant at Gopalpur, Tata Steel has two other ferro-chrome plants in Odisha -- a 65,000 tpa plant at Bamnipal in Keonjhar district and a 55,000 tpa one at Athagarh in Cuttack district under management of its subsidiary T.S. Alloys.

--IANS

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