Chhattisgarh steel makers want more iron ore
Sunday, 24 August 2008, 19:30 IST
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Raipur: As many as 125 sponge iron unit owners in Chhattisgarh have sought increased iron ore supply from the state-run National Mineral Development (NMDC) to tide over the current shortage. The Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturing Association (CSIMA), an industry body that represents the sponge iron makers in the state, Saturday said it needed an urgent increased quota from NMDC to the state's sponge units to help them get over the severe iron ore shortage. Last week, iron ore shortage forced 25 sponge iron units in the state to stop production. "We have requested the state government to ask NMDC to increase its supply up to at least eight million tonnes per annum from the current supply of about 2.5 million tonnes," a CSIMA official told IANS. NMDC, India's leading iron ore producer and exporter, which has three mines in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, is the traditional supplier of iron ore to the state's sponge iron units through the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB). "The sponge iron industry is facing its worst raw material crisis as NMDC is refusing to increase our quota," CSIMA president Anil Nachrani said. Chhattisgarh's 125 sponge iron units that contribute about 35 percent of the country's total annual sponge iron output of nearly 20 million tones require 12 million tonnes of iron ore a year. Sponge iron is an alternative to steel scrap and is used as a raw material for manufacturing steel products.
Source: IANS
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