Gujarat Ambuja In Fray To Set Up Slag Unit For Jvsl

Larsen & Toubro, is also understood to be in negotiations with JVSL, which will eventually supply the plant with granulated slag for the manufacture of slag cement.

Meanwhile, JVSL has raised around Rs 100 crore through its major raw-material vendors to bridge cost overruns. A top company official, however, refused to reveal names of the vendors or the route through which the funds were raised.

The official said a decision on the promoter for the cement unit will be taken soon. Earlier, it is learnt that JVSL had held discussions with Grasim Industries and the BK Birla-controlled Kesoram Industries.

The official ruled out JVSL entering into a joint venture partnership with the promoter of the cement plant though it will provide raw material. These include, granulated slag to produce slag cement and fly-ash to produce portland pozzolona cement.

 

Slag from the blast furnace is mixed with clinker to produce slag cement. Slag, which consists of calcium oxide, alumina, and silicon oxide, is the residue waste formed from the iron oxide, in the iron-making process. Fly-ash, will be generated from the nearby power plant.

At full capacity, JVSL can generate around 0.5 million tonne of granulated slag, which could be used to produce slag cement, and another 50,000 tonne of fly-ash which will be used for the production of portland pozzolona cement.

JVSL, which made profits during the first quarter, is expected to notch up a Rs 75-crore net profit during 2000-01. The company, however, may end up incurring a Rs 25-crore net loss during the last quarter of the current financial year.

The profits was made possible because of reducing operating cost of production. JVSL became the first integrated steel project to make a marginal net profit during the first quarter (Rs 25.4 crore) after incurring losses since it partially went on stream. The steel plant is based on corex oxygen iron-making technology.

In the second quarter, JVSL is expected to make a net profit of around Rs 30 crore, in the third quarter, around Rs 45 crore but a net loss of Rs 25 crore during the last quarter. The fourth quarter losses is because of capitalisation of corex, oxygen steel making and continuous casting integrated operation.

There has been over 100 per cent capacity utilisation compared with the average of around 60-70 per cent during the first year of operation with the specific consumption of coal and power going down.

The hot metal production at JVSL has gone up to 0.66 million tonne compared with 0.5 million tonne production at Posco, of South Korea and 0.46 million tonne at Saldana in South Africa in their first year of operations. Both these companies are among the leading steel producers in the world.