Karnataka Steel & Mineral Industry

[engineer.akash]

Iron ore mining ban: Auto parts sector fears raw material shortage

CHENNAI, AUG. 7:
The auto components industry fears that a crisis situation might emerge in terms of raw material shortage as a consequence of the iron ore mining ban in Karnataka.

Cylinder blocks and cylinder heads that form the bulk of automobile engines are made in foundries whose key raw material is pig iron. Three large pig iron manufacturers, Tata Metaliks, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries and Sesa Goa, are fed by ore from Karnataka.

The automotive industry needs 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of pig iron a month, says Mr Srivats Ram, President, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA). This translates to about 3 million tonnes of ore a year.

Major (casting) companies have raw material stocks that would last till the end of the month, Mr Ram told Business Line. From next month, the situation would turn critical if the shortage of ore continues.

BASIS OF THE BAN

Mr R. Seshasayee, Chairman, Hinduja Foundries Ltd, the country's largest castings company, says that the industry can understand the basis of the ban.

To first determine who is mining illegally and who is not, might be time consuming and therefore a blanket ban is well founded.

However, this welcome step must be followed with quick action in terms of allowing those who are not violating the law to go ahead with mining, he said.

Pointing out that the castings industry was already facing hurdles, mainly in terms of slowdown in the automobile industry, Mr Seshasayee said, any shortage of raw material would “exacerbate the problem”.

Mr Srivats Ram said that it would help a little if the 5 per cent import duty on pig iron is removed, but stressed that it would not solve the problem.

Meanwhile, the industry is studying other options, in case there is no change in status quo.

To what extent can the public sector NMDC – the only company allowed to mine iron ore in Karnataka – come the industry's aid? Is steel scrap an option?

Source

Mines closure in Karnataka may force JSW, Tatas to halt work

KOLKATA | MUMBAI: Last week, when Sesa Goa, India's largest iron ore exporter, cut its revenue guidance for the current fiscal year due to tight ore supply from Karnataka, it spoke volumes about production problem at one of the largest mineral producing states of the country.

Karnataka, which accounts for a third of India's iron ore output, had to suspend operations in about 50 mines affecting supplies to a host of steelmakers and prompting large players such as JSW Steel and Tata Metaliks to consider a stoppage in production.

The shuttering of the mines followed a survey by a court-appointed panel that found most of these mines, owned by private owners, operating without clear boundary sites, encroaching on forest land and dumping mineral waste outside their mines. This was in addition to an earlier directive by the state government to ban exports.

The closure has led to uncertainity about supplies of about 40 million tonnes of iron ore that comes from the region. Karnataka supplies iron ore to several steel plants such as JSW Steel, Tata Metaliks, Jindal Saw, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries and Kalyani Steel. In his representation to the Karnataka government, JSW Steel CEO Vinod Nowal said that as the company's daily iron ore requirements is 53,000 tonnes and the company has stock of only 150,000 tonnes, operations at the plant could likely be stopped.

Tata Metaliks, the largest producer of foundry grade pig iron which supplies to automobile and engineering companies, said the closure notices issued by the department of mines and geology is ultra vires the Supreme Court order dated May 6, 2011, which did not stipulate stoppage of mining activities. "Iron ore has no substitute for the production of pig iron and our stock level will last for a very short period. The abrupt closure of mining in Bellary will result in complete stoppage of production at the plant," vicepresident Sudhin Mitter wrote to Central Empowered Committee chairman PV Jayakrishnan.

According to the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, iron ore shipments from India, the world's third-largest exporter of the mineral, will fall to 64 million tones in the current fiscal year. Karnataka has 9 billion tonnes of reserves accounting for nearly 38% of India's deposits. The crackdown on illegal mining has come at a time when Karnataka has emerged as a much sought-after location for major global steel sector companies planning to make inroads into India.

The world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal and South Korea's Posco, which have faced delays in the progress of their greenfield projects in other states, have been considering Karnataka due to its pro-industrial policies. Several medium-size companies such as Adhunik Metaliks and Varun Industries too have laid out plans to set up steel and pig iron plants in the state. According to an Assocham report the Indian steel industry has invested about .`70,000 crore based on supplies of ore from the Bellary-Hospet region.

The tight supplies of iron ore have already led to a steep rise in the prices of iron ore. This will put a pressure on the margins of the steel and consumer goods companies which are grappling with expensive coking coal, another key element for steelmaking.

Source

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Muralidhara Khajane

Findings called the situation in Bellary ‘alarming'


Annual production in the mining belt increased to 44.39 million tonnes in 2008-09 from 12.4 million tonnes at the time of the NEERI study. — file photo

The apathy of the State Government in implementing the recommendations of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 2004, resulted in degradation of the environment due to illegal mining in Bellary.

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate illegal mining in the State, in its report submitted on July 28, blamed successive governments for the havoc wrought by illegal mining in Bellary.

Ban on mining

The CEC report, based on which the Supreme Court imposed a ban on mining in Bellary district, noted that the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in April 2001 decided that no fresh iron mining leases or renewals would be granted in Bellary and Hospet region till the State got a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study done for the entire region, and a master plan for systematic and scientific mining was prepared. The Government asked the NEERI to undertake a regional EIA study for preparing an effective Environmental Management Plan (EMP) in August 2001, and the institute submitted a report in April 2004.

However, the recommendations made in the NEERI report were not implemented, and in the meantime ecology was damaged due to reckless mining. The annual production in the area increased to 44.39 million tonnes in 2008-09 compared to 12.4 million tonnes at the time of the NEERI study.

The NEERI report said that the situation was alarming and called for immediate radical remedial measures. More importantly, compared to the economic loss that has been pegged at Rs. 16,085 crore, the damage to the environment was huge. Of the total forest area, only 8 per cent of the recorded such area had a moderately dense forest cover, while 92 per cent was either degraded or there was no forest cover at all, the report added.

The report recommended that “irrespective of any other corrective and punitive measures, it is imperative that immediate effective steps are taken for the reclamation and the rehabilitation of the area found under illegal mining outside the sanctioned lease area and till then the mining operation in such areas, including the transportation of minerals should continue to remain suspended”.

Recommendations

The CEC recommended the setting up of a high-powered committee to prepare a master plan for iron ore mining in Bellary in view of the “disturbing and most unsatisfactory state of affairs” in the district.

It recommended that the committee be headed by Deepak Sharma, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests; U.V. Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests, as a member; and H.R. Srinivas, Director, Department of Mines and Geology, as member-secretary.

• NEERI was asked to take up a study to prepare an Environmental Management Plan

• Report recommended ‘immediate steps for reclamation of area under illegal mining'

The Hindu

[sharifyaseen]

What about arcelor mittal,bhushan steels plans in bellary,will these projects be abandoned..?

[engineer.akash]

Originally Posted by sharifyaseen

What about arcelor mittal,bhushan steels plans in bellary,will these projects be abandoned..?

Mittal plant is going ahead smoothly.Bushan was to get land near bear sanctuary which is scrapped for now.

[engineer.akash]

Posco plant in Gadag not a closed chapter

Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore August 17, 2011, 0:18 IST
The Karnataka government is still looking at acquiring land in Halligudi village of Gadag district for South Korean steel maker Posco’s proposed Rs 32,300-crore plant. Last month it had said it would not acquire land forcibly to set up the plant.

“The government is still open to acquiring land at Halligudi for Posco plant, as majority of farmers are ready to sell their land,” said Murugesh R Nirani, large and medium industries minister.

“We have received consent letters on bond paper from around 80 per cent of families identified for land acquisition. They are ready to sell their land, while the heads of religious mutts in the district have opposed. We have only said their land will not be acquired forcibly,” he said, adding If Posco wanted an alternative site, the government would be happy to give it elsewhere.
A senior company director from South Korea is visiting Bangalore on August 23 to hold talks with chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda. The government would also talk to the pontiffs of Tontadarya and Annadaneshwar Mutts, who were against land acquisition in Halligudi, before taking a final decision, he said.

The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has identified 3,382 acres of farmland in Halligudi to set up the six-million tonne per annum plant. It has issued preliminary notices under Section 28 (1) of the KIADB Act to 532 farmers in Halligudi and completed the personal hearing with families opposed to the acquisition. Over 400 families have given consent to sell their land.

Though former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa had said the government had dropped the land acquisition proposal in Halligudi, sources said the special land acquisition office of KIADB in Dharwad was yet to get a communication from Bangalore regarding this.

BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Futuristic: Aircraft models being displayed as part of NAL's Foundation Day celebrations in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

In the next few days, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) will be testing a series of micro air vehicles (MAVs), weighing no more than 300 gm and fitted with cameras, that will eventually be deployed to hover over the Karnataka's infamous mining belts.

NAL Director A.R. Upadhya told presspersons here on Thursday that NAL was working with the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Cell to monitor and assess the impact of mining in the State using MAVs that are 30 cm in size.

He was speaking at a press conference following the CSIR-NAL Foundation Day celebrations.

Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra said a five-seat commercial aircraft, that will cut down travel time phenomenally and cost a passenger just 30 per cent more than an air-conditioned taxi ride, may be a reality as soon as three years.

The NM-5 aircraft, which will be developed by the company along with the NAL, could “dramatically open up the country for a range of clients and services, he said, be they farmers looking for market access; patients in need of medical help, or pilgrims who want an easy ferry to their destination.

The piston-engine plane is under development in Australia and could be tested within six to 12 weeks, said Mahindra Systech president Hemant Luthra. “I would be disappointed if in the next three to five years the production did not touch 100 planes annually,” he added.

Earlier, delivering the 25th CSIR-NAL Foundation Day lecture on ‘Setting Course for a Vibrant, Collaborative Aerospace Future', Mr. Mahindra said the aerospace sector must look beyond traditional technologies and dabble in green technologies that are affordable.

The Hindu

[Krishnamoorthy K]

J. Venkatesan

‘Level of illegality in the districts as bad as that in Bellary'


Concern: Of the 687.42 hectares being mined in Chitradurga district, 497.64 hectares is forest area. — FILE PHOTO The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has recommended to the Supreme Court that it extend the ban on mining in the districts of Tumkur and Chitradurga in Karnataka, as was done in Bellary district.

On July 29, acting on an application from NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya, the Forest Bench, comprising Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar, had asked the CEC to do an Environment Impact Assessment in these two districts and submit a report within three weeks.

On Friday, the CEC submitted a report recommending that the July 29 order — by which the mining operations had been suspended — be extended in respect of the mining leases in the two districts. It said the level of illegality and environmental degradation caused in these districts “are in no way less than that which has taken place in Bellary.”

Further, the CEC wanted a direction to restrain the mining companies from exporting the 12,000 tonnes of ore already mined.

The Bench issued notice to the Centre, Karnataka and the companies concerned and posted it for further orders for next Friday.

The CEC said in the report that in Tumkur a total area of 1,203 hectares was covered in 24 leases, out of which 257.37 hectares fell in forest area. The total production in 2001-02 was 2.03 lakh metric tonnes and in 2008-09, the total production had gone up to 25.30 lakh metric tonnes.

In Chitradurga, the total mining area, out of 18 leases, was 687.42 hectares, out of which 497.64 hectares was in forest area.

The mining production, which was 12.79 lakh tonnes in 2001-02, had increased to 65.63 lakh tonnes in 2008-09. Besides expressing concern over environmental degradation, the CEC reported violations such as illegal mining and production disproportionate to the size of the mine. It, therefore, sought a complete ban on mining in these two districts as well.

The NGO had drawn attention to the large-scale illegal mining in the districts of Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur and the serious breakdown of governance in the State.

It said the nexus between politician-miners and officials not only raised serious concerns about ecology and environment, but also on issues concerning transparency and accountability in the functioning of the government.

•Direction sought to restrain firms from exporting 12,000 tonnes of ore already mined
•Production disproportionate to the size of the mines found

The Hindu

[engineer.akash]

Xindia's pelletisation plant at Koppal

Bangalore, Aug. 22:
Xindia Steels to dedicate 0.8 mtpa iron ore pelletisation plant and inauguration of construction of 2.5 mtpa integrated iron and steel making facility at Koppal district in Karnataka at 6.30 pm on August 24 at Mysore Hall - ITC Royal Gardenia, Bangalore. — Our Bureau

The Hindu

[engineer.akash]

Apex court bans mining in 2 more Karnataka districts

THE HINDU Mining area of Chikkanayakana Halli near Tumkur (file photo).
NEW DELHI, AUG 26:
The Supreme Court on Friday suspended mining and transportation of iron ore in/from two more districts of Karnataka — Tumkur and Chitradurga.

This follows the findings of the apex court panel — the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) — of illegal iron ore mining activity in these districts resulting in environmental damage and loss of forest cover.

Also, the level of illegal mining and the consequential environmental degradation in these two districts are in no way less than that of Bellary district in the State, the CEC has found.

The Supreme Court had in July suspended mining and transportation of iron ore in/from Bellary also. Noting that there is a stock of 25 million tonnes of iron ore, the court on Friday sought to know the monthly requirements of the local steel industry so that it can give orders for release of such quantity as well as the modalities for sale and transportation of such stock.

The court has sought a joint report on the domestic requirements from the steel industry, the state government and the Centre by September 2, when the matter would be heard again.

On September 2, the CEC has to submit to the court the name of the government agency that would be in charge of keeping the accounts of sale proceeds of iron ore and royalty from mining.

Meanwhile, the court also sought within three months a macro-level Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of Tumkur and Chitradurga regions from the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, the Forest Survey of India and such domain experts as may be decided by the ICFRE in consultation with the Environment Ministry.

[engineer.akash]

SC order a death blow to steel sector in Karnataka

Mahesh Kulkarni & Shubhashish / Bangalore/ Mumbai August 27, 2011, 0:26 IST

The Supreme Court directive to suspend iron ore mining activities with immediate effect in Karnataka’s Chitradurga and Tumkur districts will be the last nail in the coffin for iron and steel manufacturers in the state. The two southeastern districts account for about 20 per cent of the state’s annual iron ore production of about 45 million tonnes.

Mining operations have already ceased in upstate Bellary district, which contributes 80 per cent of Karnataka’s iron ore production. The ore produced in Chitradurga and Tumkur are of low grade, and mainly exported to China.

The state’s pig iron, sponge iron and steel manufacturers, who were working on a thin supply of iron ore from these two districts, will have to shut down their blast furnaces within a week as the SC has ordered the complete halt to mining, industry sources said. The apex court order is likely to adversely affect JSW Steel. The Sajjan Jindal-led company, after a recent SC ban on mining in Bellary, was depending on supplies from Chitradurga and Tumkur — to the extent of 50 per cent of its requirements. The 1982-founded firm operates a 10-million-tonne-per-annum steel plant at Toranagallu in Bellary.
A JSW Steel official said the company had been operating at less than half of its installed capacity after the supplies dried up from Bellary last month.
“With the suspension of mining in Tumkur and Chitradurga, we cannot continue with the production any more. Our iron ore stocks will last another four to five days. We may have to shut down our blast furnaces,” he added. On the back of the SC order allowing NMDC to produce iron ore from its Bellary iron ore mines, JSW Steel said the company expects to run its plant at 80 per cent capacity. The ban in Chitradurga and Tumkur will now force the company to further cut production.

“Our blast furnaces are not designed to operate at a lower feed of ore,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “They have to be run at 80 per cent capacity or shut down. With the ore supplies drying up, we will be left with no option but to shut down gradually.” Among the major mining companies that will be affected severely by the SC order are Sesa Goa and Mineral Enterprises Ltd, which operate in Chitradurga. About 25 per cent of Sesa Goa’s iron ore production comes from its mine in Chitradurga. Edelweiss, in an August 22 note, said the SC order on mining ban in the region could possibly shut Sesa Goa’s 6-million-tonne-per-year Chitradurga mine.

“Sesa Goa’s mine in Chitradurga had recently ramped up to 6 MTPA and was accounting for 25 per cent of its annualised volume,” said Prasad Baji and Faisal Memon of the leading financial services company.

Presently, in Karnataka alone, as many as 16 steel mills including JSW Steel, Kalyani Steels Ltd, Mukand Steels Ltd, Kirloskar Ferrous, VISL Bhadravathi, MSPL Ltd, BMM Ispat Ltd and Sathavahana Ispat among others source iron ore from Karnataka. Many other sponge iron manufacturers in Tamil Nadu and Goa also source iron ore from Karnataka. “It will be a big blow to the steel sector as there is no other option than closing down the plants completely. The companies will have to either reduce the production significantly or close down due to non-availability of iron ore. It may take long time for NMDC to reach the assured supply of 33,000 tonnes per day. The current supplies are only in the range of 22,000 tonnes as against the industry requirement of 104,000 tonnes per day,” T S Sampath Kumar, secretary general, Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce said.

The Friday’s order of Supreme Court will also affect about 60 sponge iron manufacturers in the state, most of them have already shut down.

“It’s a very sad thing for the industry. The SC order has come as a severe blow to miners. Actually, only 11 per cent of the forest area is under mining in Bellary district. We have taken all possible precautionary measures to protect the environment,” a spokesperson of MSPL, a mining and pellet producer from Bellary said.

There will be a loss of revenue to the exchequer and the overall economic development will be severely affected in the three districts of Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur. The impact is so severe that more than 80,000 people working in the sector will be rendered jobless and the livelihoods of over 100,000 people associated directly or indirectly gets affected, Sampath Kumar added.

BS

[engineer.akash]

Xindia Steels to set up pellet and steel plant in Karnataka

Xindia Steels Limited announced the setting up of INR 8,500 crore integrated steel making facility of 2.5 million tonne capacity, at Koppal, in Karnataka.

The plan envisages, in the first phase, commissioning of a 0.8 million tonne iron ore pellet plant at the site.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Mr DV Sadananda Gowda said the new mineral policy of the state is focused on bringing value addition to such projects. The proposed steel plant at Koppal, he said, would not only bring in big ticket investment for the state but also inclusive growth and development of the district.

In this regard, he said that around 20 projects of the total 389 projects, which received clearances at the Global Investors’ Meet 2010 have been completed and begun their operations. The long term plan of Xindia Steels is to have a 5 million tonne facility in the third phase.

Chinese Ambassador Mr Zhang Yan said that the company currently is providing jobs for 200 persons at the pelletisation plant and by the third phase when the entire project would go on stream, around 10,000 jobs would be generated.

Xindia Steels Limited is promoted by two major Chinese state owned entities Xinxing Cathay International Group and China Minmetals Group. The Indian promoters are Kelchandra Group and the Manasara Group.

DHNS

Mining banned in Karnataka,but why is this company willing to set up plant here?

[Krishnamoorthy K]

'Mining ban will cost State Rs.4,000 crore'
How much mining is costing to environment? Is this cost subtracted?
How much people have lost employment due to non-usage of mining resource for generatring employment by putting up industries? Is there any estimation for this?

Bellary mine workers fear job loss
Once the mines are empty they will lose job permanently. We have to have plan for their permanent employment.

'India-China trade volume should go up'
Instead of exdporting iron ore when we start exporting machineries trade will go up.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Originally Posted by engineer.akash

SC order a death blow to steel sector in Karnataka



BS

I do not like the contradictory views in the article. On the one hand it is telling Tumkur & Chitradurga low grade ore can not be used in India but in China only. On the other hand it also tells that Indian plants are affected by the ban.

I prefer all mines to be handed over to NMDC or any other government sector mining company like KIOCL and they in turn export to other countries. Mining should be allowed for private sector if they have steel plant only.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

he final report of the Lokayukta on illegal mining favours the ban on export of iron ore so as “to increase the duration of life of leases for iron ore production”.

The report notes that the production, including illegal extraction, had gone up manifold after submission of the first report in 2008, according to the detailed findings of U.V. Singh. It observed that “there shall be complete ban on the export outside the country”. The observation is based on the details submitted by the Department of Mines and Geology.

Based on the submission on the life of leases by the Deputy Director Mines and Geology, Hospet, the report states that “it is shocking to note that most of the leases will be running out of deposits of iron ore for the ferrous content of 60 grade in a span of 3 to 12 years”.

The consent and approvals from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) have been increased irrationally, without keeping in view the total deposition of the ore in the leases and environmental damages. This unscientific and unsustainable extraction has caused serious concern for the existing steel plants and the upcoming plants in the State, the report says.

The IBM plans are being prepared by the lessees themselves and then taken for approval to the IBM. The consent of MoEF under the Environmental Protection Act has been given based on the approval of IBM. The consent given by the MoEF and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board was found quite arbitrary in many of the cases, the report notes.

RECOMMENDATION

To increase duration of life of leases for iron ore production, the report recommended bringing down per year production of all the leases with a life span of 15 to 20 years to one-fourth of the present production. Similarly, per year production of leases with life span of 10 to 15 years and 1 to 10 years to one-fifth and one-tenth respectively. The other recommendations include: viewing of illegal extraction seriously and cancellation of lease following due procedure if illegal removal is found. The quantification of low and high grade reserve should be done by the Indian Bureau of Mines and Department of Mines and Geology. The quantification should not be left to consultants and lessees under any circumstances.

LEASES

The report suggests that the IBM should consult the State Government before approval of mining plan of any of the leases and all plans should be revisited and modified in accordance of the norms.

The State Government should take immediate action to revive the IBM plans, and the upper limit of despatch in Bellary, Hospet and Sandur region should not exceed 25 million tonnes per year, including low grade ore, it says.

Keywords: illegal mining, Karnataka politics, Lokayukta report, iron ore, Bellary, exports

The Hindu

[engineer.akash]

ArcelorMittal bets on Karnataka to push India plans

MUMBAI: ArcelorMittal India expects Karnataka to be the mainstay of its India plans and expects the state's pro-industry policies, and faster mine allocation procedures, to push its long-awaited projects off the ground. But the world's largest steel manufacturer will continue to pursue its plans in Jharkhand and Orissa simultaneously, as the company wishes retain its alternative options, said a senior company official.

"Compared to other states, land acquisition is more systematic in Karnataka as the state government has in the past, done a good job of rewarding farmers in large industrial projects," said the senior official who asked not to be named. The suspension of mining in the iron ore-rich districts of Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur has not impacted ArcelorMittal India's plans as it expects the issue to be resolved soon.

ArcelorMittal intends to build a Rs 30,000-crore, six million-tonne steel plant in Karnataka in two phases, in line with a revised programme of setting up smaller steel mills in multiple locations.

The company needs about 4,500 acres for the project of which 4,000 acres has already been acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board.

Earlier, ArcelorMittal India wanted to build large steel plants of 12-million-tonne capacity, but was subsequently discouraged by the delay in land acquisition in Jharkhand and Orissa. It came to India in 2007.

Bureaucratic delays and land acquisition programmes have delayed ArcelorMittal India's Jharkhand and Orissa plans. The problems are similar to the ones faced by South Korean major Posco that is also struggling to push through its 12-million-tonne steel project in Orissa, in the face of strong opposition.

"The pace of land acquisition in Jharkhand is not something we like," said the official, referring to the company's move to shift the site of the proposed steel project from Khunti-Gumla to Bokaro in Jharkand. "We also decided that having large projects of 12 million tonnes will delay the projects further. So we now plan to develop the projects through four modules of 3 million tonnes each," he added.

ET

[engineer.akash]

Envt panel recommends conditional nod to JSW's proj in Bellary

New Delhi, Sep 18, (PTI):

An Environment Ministry panel has recommended conditional nod to Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel's Rs 25,000-crore investment proposal for expanding the capacity of steel plant located in Bellary, Karnataka.

Earlier, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) in December last year had deferred the decision on green nod to the project seeking certain details.

"After detailed deliberations, the committee recommended the project for environmental clearances subject to specific conditions along with other environmental conditions," the panel has said.

The 28 conditions prescribed by the panel, include an assurance by the company that the plant will obtain its raw material on regular basis from the designated sources for long period to enable the validity of its EMP (Environmental Management Plan) report."

Apart from plans to augment the capacity of its integrated steel manufacturing facility from 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 16 MTPA, JSW plans to set up a 600 MW captive power plant near Tornagallu village at Bellary.

The conditions for the project include developing a green belt in the plant area, earmarking 5 per cent of the total cost of the project towards enterprise social commitment and providing housing for construction labour within the plant site with all necessary infrastructure facilities.

Besides, the panel has asked the company for "compliance to all the specific and general conditions stipulated for the existing plant".

The project had come up for deliberation in the meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) held recently.

Earlier in December, the EAC had deferred the decision on the proposal seeking detailed housing plan for construction workers, exact source and trace element analysis of raw materials, a copy of coal linkage document and CSR plan for five per cent of the project cost.

The expert committee had also asked for an authenticated map showing the location of the project and Daroji Bear Sanctuary and has recommended the project for green nod after sending a sub-committee to the site, which gave its report recently.

JSW's Bellary plant is just about 5 km away from the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary. JSW requires about 700 acres for the proposed expansion, which is within the existing plant area. The company's Bellary plant, including the township, is spread over 7,761 acres and claims that it has reserved 33 per cent greenery within the total plant area.

JSW Steel had already invested close to Rs 40,000 crore in the Bellary plant.

DHNS

[engineer.akash]

Saint Gobain To acquire Electrotherm's Pipe Division

Saint Gobain may acquire the pipe division of Ahemadabad based Electrotherm for about Rs350Cr. The pipe division has an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes.

Electrotherm India makes induction melting furnaces and electric arc furnaces for steel industry. The company also manufactures electric scooters, steel products and transformers.

Electrotherm has four divisions - engineering & projects, special steel, electric vehicle and others. The pipe division, a part of special steel contributes 88% to the revenue.

The company has grown its pipe business through acquisitions such as the recent buyout of Karnataka-based Shri Ram Electrocast, with plans to expand the plant, located close to the iron ore mines in Hospet and Bellary, to produce 180,000 tonnes of ductile iron pipes per annum.

Electrotherm also acquired Hans Ispat and it's subsidiary Shree Hans Paper Ltd to expand the steel division.

Other major players in the segment include PSL, Jindal Saw and Tata Kubota - a JV between Tata Metaliks and Japan based Kubota.

Source

[anidel]

ArcelorMittal’s First Indian Steel Mill May Beat South Korea’s Posco Plant

ArcelorMittal (MT) may beat South Korea’s Posco to become the first overseas steelmaker to build a plant in India, with Karnataka state authorities set to hand over land for the $6.3 billion project in the next six months.

The government of the southern province, where ArcelorMittal aims to build a 6 million-metric-ton-a-year plant, has acquired more than three-quarters of the 4,000-acre site in the Bellary district from farmers, state Industries Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said in a phone interview. Posco, also planning a 6 million-ton plant in the state, has yet to pick a location, according to state Industries Minister Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani.

ArcelorMittal and Posco, which have $32 billion of planned projects in the eastern Indian states of Orissa and Jharkhand, have waited more than six years because of delays in securing approvals and land. While they wait, steel use rises, outpacing global demand. Indian consumption may climb as much as 9 percent in the next two to three years, while world demand may remain short of peak levels until 2013 as construction projects slow in developed nations, Fitch Ratings said in a July 13 report.

“ArcelorMittal is trying to benefit from the Indian steel industry, forecast to continue growing in the coming years,” said Veronique Colas, a financial analyst with a “buy” rating on the stock at Paris-based Alphavalue SAS. “India has ambitious plans for large-scale expansion of power supplies and electricity grids, roads and railways, and all of these are large users of steel.”
Shares Gain

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, rose as much as 2.2 percent to 12.995 euros and traded at 12.725 euros as of 11:19 a.m. in Amsterdam. The stock has dropped 53 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent decline in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Shares of Posco, the world’s third- biggest steelmaker, retreated 0.2 percent to 413,000 won in Seoul.

In June last year, Karnataka invited steelmakers to set up mills in the state, aiming to exploit its iron-ore resources and compete with Orissa and Jharkhand, where projects including steel and power plants have stalled because of protests by villagers unwilling to vacate land.

Karnataka received interest from ArcelorMittal, Posco and five other companies for projects valued at a combined 1.42 trillion rupees ($30 billion). While ArcelorMittal faced no opposition from farmers, the government asked Posco to select a new location after villagers at an earlier site at Gadag raised objections, Press Trust of India said on Aug. 17, citing Nirani.
‘Promising’ Project

“The ArcelorMittal project is one of the most promising greenfield projects announced last year,” Rao said on Sept. 17 from Bangalore. “There’s been no trouble getting the land and we don’t expect any in future. The price has been fixed and we have the consent of most of the farmers.”

A bill aimed at expediting land acquisition in India and increasing compensation to farmers was approved by the cabinet on Sept. 5 and introduced to the lower house on Sept. 7. The bill has been referred to parliament’s standing committee on rural development, which will prepare a report in three months.

“The proposed laws will sharply increase the cost for private buyers and many of the projects may become unviable depending on the area and price of land,” said Niraj Shah, an analyst with Fortune Equity Brokers India Ltd. “I don’t think the bill will be passed anytime soon as it will require the consent of all states.”

Demand Outlook Cut

India’s steel demand, which was forecast by the government to expand 12 percent this fiscal year, grew 1.3 percent in the first five months. The Steel Ministry has cut its consumption growth forecast for the year through March to 6 percent as soaring interest rates damp purchases of cars and homes and delay public-works projects.

Karnataka is among the nation’s top iron-ore producing regions. The provincial government in July 2010 banned overseas shipments of ore to retain the raw material for local steelmakers. While the Supreme Court ended the ban on April 5, exports remained halted following probes into illegal mining.

ArcelorMittal may still have to overcome other hurdles in Karnataka. The company is seeking approval to mine iron ore at Donimalai in Bellary for its proposed plant, according to data on the Mines Ministry’s website. India’s top court on Aug. 26 banned extraction of the ore in two Karnataka districts, extending curbs placed on mining in Bellary region on July 29.

“We are making slow progress in all the three states, but I would say that Karnataka is making better progress in terms of land acquisitions,” ArcelorMittal Chairman Lakshmi Mittal said in a teleconference on July 27. “But there is still lot of work to be done on mining and environment approvals, and a lot of approvals are still pending.”
Local Opposition

A $12 billion mill planned by Posco (005490) in Orissa and two projects valued at $10 billion each by ArcelorMittal in Orissa and neighboring Jharkhand have languished since 2005. While Posco got final approval for its plant in May, it struggled to acquire the land after protests from farmers. Local opposition also prompted ArcelorMittal to relocate its project to a different district in Jharkhand.

Posco is negotiating with the Orissa government to renew a five-year agreement that lapsed in June last year. While the state acquired about 2,000 acres for Posco’s plant, the process had to be halted in June after objections from villagers.

The Indian government proposes to spend about $1 trillion in the five years through 2017 to upgrade the country’s roads, ports and power networks. India is Asia’s fastest-growing major economy after China.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...o-project.html

[engineer.akash]

NMDC, Severstal for tie-up for Karnataka plant

Kolkata: Iron ore major NMDC and Russia's largest steel maker Severstal are looking at a tie-up in order to meet raw material requirements for their proposed JV steel plant in Karnataka.

"Severstal has a small coking coal mine in Russia. They have suggested for transferring it to the JV with a reciprocal arrangement for iron-ore," NMDC Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som told reporters here on the sidelines of an energy seminar.

Som said they are also evaluating the move to acquire another coking coal block in Russia.

"It's a small asset of 70 million tonne. Our team is already in Russia to take stock of the assets. We are expecting to complete the due diligence process and approach the board over next 10-12 days," Som said.

In addition, NMDC is planning a farm pact with Russian steel major Severstal for building a two million tonne steel plant at Karnataka.

"We will convert the MoU into a MOA (memorandum of association) within a month," he added.

[engineer.akash]

NMDC, Severstal to finalise joint venture by December

28 September 2011

National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) will finalise its joint venture with Russia's Severstal by the end of the year. The 50:50 joint venture will set up a three million tonnes per year steel plant in Karnataka.

"By December, we will sign a joint venture agreement with Severstal of Russia to set up a 3 MT steel unit. It will be a 50:50 joint venture," NMDC chairman Rana Som said today.

State-run NMDC is also expected to sign an agreement for acquiring 26 per cent stake in a coking coal mine of Sunflag Iron & Steel in Mozambique. NMDC is currently doing due diligence for three to four mines overseas, Som said.

The Navratna public sector unit had signed a MoU with Severstal for setting up a 3 million tonne steel plant in Karnataka, involving investment of about Rs25,000 crore. The joint venture has a provision to expand capacity to 5 million tonnes in due course.

The first joint venture steel project of the two countries, the partnership would produce auto grade and electrical steel to meet rising demand for specialised steel products in the country.

The joint venture will be supported by two subsidiaries - a captive coking coal mining subsidiary in Russia (a joint venture with Sunflag) and an iron ore-mining subsidiary in India - which would ensure long-term raw material supply for the project.

"We have made advance payment for 2,880 acres of land with the Karnataka government for the project. The source of water is also being identified for the mill with Karnataka government," Som said.

The Karnataka plant will be NMDC's second steel unit in India after its 3-million tonne project in Chhattisgarh.

As far as the pact with Sunflag is concerned, it is a part of NMDC's plan to invest in coking coal and iron ore assets overseas to ensure raw material security for its upcoming steel projects.

NMDC, which is looking more and more overseas for raw material supplies, had, last week, entered into a deal to acquire 50 per cent in Australia's Legacy Iron Ore for A$18.89 million. It is also looking to acquire mining assets in the US.

Source