Saturday, April 23,
After hiking export duty on iron ore fines’ in the Budget, mines ministry today said until domestic steel producers brace for technology for making steel directly from fines, tightening of exports would not solve mining industry’s problem.*
Mines secretary S Vijay Kumar told that the ministry was not disapproving of a blanket ban on exports of fines, but that enough Palletization capacity should be created for making use of the fines domestically.
“India uses fines for steel making only in the integrated steel plants. Sponge iron makers use lumps to produce over 30 million tonnes of steel annually.
India, world’s third largest iron ore exporter, produced 218 million tonnes of iron ore in 2009-10 and exported almost half of it, mostly in the form of fines.
Indian steel makers’ requirement of fines do not exceed 30 million tonnes a year as only the major firms like SAIL , RINL , JSW , Essar and Tata Steel– use fines produced from captive mines or under long term arrangements.
So, if there are less domestic takers and exports discouraged, what will happen to these?” asked Mines secretary adding there was need for value addition of fines.
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