Usha Martin to double iron ore production

Barajamda (Jharkhand), Dec 22: Usha Martin Limited, leading producer of speciality steel and one of the major wire rope manufacturers, has targeted to double the annual production of iron ore to 1.5 million tonne in the next two months as the company completes one year in mining operation for captive use.

Situated at Barajamda, 160 Km from the Company's steel plant at Jamshedpur, the iron ore mine over 155 hectres was the first to have been leased out to a private entrepreneur after Jharkhand came into being as a separate state.

The high grade ore, having an average 64 per cent iron content in the rocks available from this mine, is suitable for both blast furnace and DRI (Sponge Iron).

"We are going to take the production of iron ore, including the sized ones and the fines, to 1.25 lakh tonne from the present 60,000 tonne in the next couple of months to meet the expansion requirements of our steel plant in Jamshedpur," company sources said.

The ore produced from this mine would be used by the company having present annual requirement of sized ore of half a million tonne per annum. In line with the expansion projects undertaken, the captive utilization of sized iron ore would go up to about 750,000 tonne requiring 1.5 million tonne of mined ore.

The company has set up captive railway siding, crushing and screening plant near the mine site as well as at the steel plant to accept the iron ore and process it to suit the blast furnace and DRI requirement.

UNI