KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) - Industry consultants Hatch recommended in its detailed project report (DPR) for Steel Authority of India Limited’s (SAIL’s) 1.8-billion ton Chiria iron-ore reserve, that a first-phase capacity of seven-million tons a year should be installed at the project, ramping up to 15-million tons a year.

SAIL has planned a capital investment of $1-billion for development of Chiria, which once implemented, would become the single largest iron-ore mining complex in the country. The development of the Chiria reserves was part of the company’s medium-term strategic plans to double iron-ore production from captive mines to 35.5-million tons a year, entailing total capital investments of $2.5-billion.

The company’s target of doubling iron-ore production was dovetailed to enable production of 26-million tons of hot metal by 2015. In 2011, the company set an iron-ore production target of 25-million tons for a hot metal production target of 15.74-million tons.

The Hatch DPR would be scrutinised by SAIL’s raw materials division and the board of directors, and turnkey tenders for various implementation packages would be floated over the next few months.

For implementation of the first phase, the country’s largest integrated steel plant had earmarked investments of $386-million, but officials said that the investments could increase in view of the sharp depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, over the past months.

The development of the Chiria mine was crucial for the long-term growth plans of the steel company, since these reserves were expected to provide more than 40% of the requirement for iron-ore, once fully developed and operational.

The company has already received environmental clearances for 696 ha across the reserves and had its mining plans approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines.

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