Iron ore supply resumes from NMDC Bailadila mine to RINL plant in Andhra

Iron ore supply from NMDC's Bailadila mine in Chhatisgarh resumed on Tuesday to its plant in Andhra Pradesh, steel maker RINL said.

Iron ore is a key raw material required for the manufacturing of steel.

"With the continuous and relentless efforts by Indian Railways, the KK line operations were restored on October 10, 2023, and supply iron ore/rake movement to RINL from NMDC mines resumed," the Visakhapatnam-based entity said in a statement.

RINL further said that there was a major landslide in the KK line between Jaypore and Koraput during the early hours of September 24, 2023, and supplies from NMDC Bailadila sector, which is the main source of iron ore supplies for the company, had to be stopped.

This created a massive challenge for sustaining the plant operations as the inflow of iron ore was already constrained and the stock level of iron ore had reached a critical level because of heavy monsoon rain in the mines area, it added.

Meanwhile, RINL made alternate arrangements from other sources like NMDC mines in Karnataka, SAIL-Bolani/ Barsuan, Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC) and Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) to to ensure smooth and uninterrupted operations of the two blast furnaces at at its plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Under the Ministry of Steel, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is among the top six steel producers in the country. Its plant at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh has an installed annual capacity of about 7.5 million tonnes (MT).