Indian iron ore miner NMDC Limited has restarted operations at its coal-based sponge iron (direct reduction induction(DRI)) plant, long closed owing to administrative reasons, company sources said on Thursday, January 24.
The sources said that the DRI plant located near NMDC’s iron ore mines at Chhattisgarh had a capacity to produce 100 tons per day of sponge iron and was fired up on Wednesday, January23, but initially would be operated at 90 percent capacity utilization, the break-even point determined for the plant.
The DRI plant will source iron ore from NMDC’s Bailadila iron ore mines in Chhattisgarh, while an agreement has been signed with Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for supplies of coal, the company sources added.
According to the sources, once the revival of the plant is complete and production levels stabilized, NMDC could consider expanding the capacity of the DRI plant as it will ensure higher returns for the company leveraging its captive source of raw material.