Integrated steel producer ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel (AM/NS) produced over 4.12 mn t of iron ore from its Thakurani mine in Odisha in FY21, as per latest data available with SteelMint.
The steel-maker’s total iron ore sourcing stood at 14.3 mn t in FY21 against 13.43 mn t in FY20. NMDC remained the leading source of ore for AM/NS, with the PSU miner supplying 7.71 mn t in FY21 compared to 7.17 mn t in the previous fiscal.
Boosting iron ore security
Situated within Odisha’s Joda circle in Keonjhar district, the Thakurani mine has estimated reserves of 179 mn t of iron ore and an annual capacity of 5.5 mn t which can be scaled up to 8 mn t per annum. AM/NS won the mine for a premium of 107.55% at the Odisha auctions in 2020.
Moreover, the company has been granted a 50-year mining lease for the Ghoraburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block in Odisha. AM/NS has received clearance for 7.16 mn t per annum mining operations from the block, which has overall deposits of 99.59 mn t of iron ore and is spread over 139.165 hectares in Odisha’s Sundergarh district.
AM/NS is expected to further ramp up production from its mines in Odisha in order to strengthen the supply chain for expansion of steel-making capacity to 15 mn t/year at its integrated plant in Hazira, Gujarat. In addition, the company is considering greenfield expansion projects in Odisha and is planning to set up a network of slurry pipelines from its mines to pelletisation and iron ore beneficiation facilities within Odisha and neighbouring places.
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