The expert appraisal committee of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) at its next meeting will vet the case for green clearance to National Aluminium Company’s (NALCO) expansion of its alumina refinery at Damanjodi (Odisha). The panel is expected to meet shortly to discuss pending environment clearance cases for many projects including NALCO’s.
NALCO is running an alumina refining unit at Damanjodi at the foothills of its captive bauxite mines spread over Panchpatmalli hills in south Odisha’s Koraput district. It has announced to add a fifth stream to this refinery with a capacity of one MnT per annum (mtpa) that will raise its design capacity to 3.275 mtpa.
The navratna aluminium company has committed an investment of INR 5,600 crore on this alumina refinery ramp up. NALCO is also going for expansion of its steam cum co generation power plant at Damanjodi.
NALCO is sourcing bauxite from its captive Panchpatmalli mines in Koraput district to feed the refinery installed at the foothills. The state government has extended the validity of the mining lease till 2020 as per the provisions of the amended Mines and Minerals- Development & Regulation (MMDR) Act. The present mining capacity of Panchpatmalli mines is 6.8 mtpa and NALCO is targeting alumina production of 2.1 mtpa this fiscal.
To cater to the expanded capacity, NALCO would draw bauxite from Pottangi mines, also in Koraput district. NALCO has recently won mining rights over Pottangi with proven deposits of 75.22 MnT of bauxite.
The refinery expansion plan has already been cleared by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the highest body to approve investments in Odisha.
NALCO had submitted INR 300 crore CSR (corporate social responsibility) package to the state government for the Pottangi deposits. The CSR projects would be implemented at Damanjodi, Angul and other parts of Odisha.
Over the years, NALCO has been exporting surplus alumina of around one MnT every year.
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