India’s Tata Steel Limited will spend an estimated $1.18 billion on its captive Noamundi, Joda and Katamati iron ore mines to ramp up aggregate annual production to 55 million mt from 40 million mt, a company statement said on Thursday, May 1.
“Tata Steel is preparing to meet global challenges in the steel sector by strengthening its raw material base and modernizing operations,” the company’s general manager, ores, mines, quarries (OMQ), Atul Bhatnagar, said in the statement.
He said that Tata Steel would also bid in upcoming mine auctions in Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. Mining operations are expected to begin in two blocks in Sundargarh, Odisha, within the next two years, he added.
Mr. Bhatnagar also said that the company is in the process of patenting two mining-related technologies. One pertains to segregating large boulders post-blasting, while the other uses a high-speed imaging camera to inspect dumper loads.