New Delhi, Dec. 11: SAIL’s Australian mining consultant Hatch has devised a strategy for a massive 15-fold jump in iron ore output from the PSU’s Chiria mines.

Hatch’s plan, submitted to SAIL, envisages production from Chiria to reach 15 million tonnes (15mt) per annum from 1mt now, which will make it the most productive ore mine in the country.

The Rs 5,000-crore investment proposal on mining facilities and an ore beneficiation plant will lead to Chiria meeting a third of SAIL’s ore requirements. With reserves of 2.2 billion tonnes, Chiria has Asia’s largest deposits of high grade ore.

Hatch has proposed that output be raised in phases — first to 7mt per annum and then to 15mt.

SAIL, with a turnover of Rs 45,000-crore, also plans to ramp up ore production at the Kiriburu mine to 5.5mt per annum and Meghahatuburu to 6.5mt per annum. The PSU plans to raise production at Bolani to 10mt per annum, Gua to 10mt and Kalta to 2mt.

Rowghat, a new mine having a reserve of half-a-billion tonne high grade ore, will supply 3mt annually to SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant.

SAIL plans to set up a 4mt pelletisation plant at IISCO’s Gua mines and three smaller pelletisation plants of 2mt-per-year capacity at other sites.

Officials said SAIL had obtained stage-I forest clearance from the forest and environment ministry for 595.075 hectares of Chiria covering the Ajitaburu, Budhaburu, Sukri-Latur and Dhobil leases. Separate environment clearances have been obtained in March for Chiria’s Budhaburu and Ajitaburu leases.

The Indian Bureau of Mines have approved the mining plans for Chiria’s Ajitaburu, Budhaburu, Dhobil and Sukri-Latur leases.

SAIL executives said the development of Chiria was crucial to the PSU’s long-term plans. “It’s the only deposit in India capable of sustaining up to 30-50mt of mechanised mining annually. Over the next half a century, around 40 per cent of SAIL’s iron ore requirement will be met from this one single field.”

Once the ore in the other mines in eastern India gets depleted, Chiria will be the sole supplier to the PSU’s four integrated facilities at Bokaro, Burnpur, Durgapur and Rourkela and to the new unit being built at Burnpur.

A SAIL-led consortium has bagged rights to three mines in Hajigak in Afghanistan with reserves of 1.28 billion tonnes; if costs permit, ore from these mines can be transported to the Iranian port of Chabahar for delivery to India. SAIL now plans to use the ore for a proposed 6mt plant in Afghanistan.

Coal concern

The PSU, however, has not yet been able to solve its coal problems. At present, it sources just 3.5mt of coal from within the country and 10.5mt from abroad every year.

This requirement will go up by a third once its modernisation programme is completed. Fluctuating prices of imported coking coal have been affecting the PSU’s bottomline. SAIL’s net profit fell 54.6 per cent in the July-September quarter because of rising input costs and a strong dollar.

The steel major has signed deals or are in the final lap of sealing deals with Indonesia, South Africa and Mongolia to set up plants in exchange for possessing high quality coking coal mines in these countries.