India’s mining sector is at the cusp of transformative growth, driven by increased demand for minerals, government reforms and infrastructure development. PSUs play a critical role in shaping the sector, supporting growth in mineral exploration, extraction and processing. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), one of the key PSUs, has been instrumental in strengthening the country’s mining infrastructure by significantly contributing to mineral production and technical expertise development in the sector. It is engaged in the mining of iron ore, coal, limestone and dolomite, and is the country’s second largest iron producer. At a recent Indian Infrastructure conference, Arun Kumar, Chief General Manager, SAIL, talked about the company’s existing mines and their relevance, its sustainable practices and digital and safety initiatives as well as future targets. Edited excerpts…
Key mining operations supporting steel plants
SAIL has a large presence in the production of steel and mining of essential raw materials such as iron ore for steelmaking in India. It owns and operates five integrated steel plants (ISPs), located in Burnpur, Durgapur, Bokaro, Bhillai and Rourkela. It also has four special steel plants, including an alloy steel plant in Durgapur and a stainless steel plant in Salem. Moreover, it has a ferro alloy steel plant in Chandrapur. Its interlinked mining operations are spread across India.
The company has a self-sustaining business in iron ore mining that meets the requirements of its steel plants. Among the four iron ore-bearing zones of the country, Odisha and Jharkhand in the eastern zone, forming a horseshoe (shape) deposit, account for the majority of its mining operations. In the eastern zone, the Kiriburu, Meghahatuburu, Gua and Chiria mines are located in Jharkhand, while Bolani, Barsua Kalta and Taldih are located in Odisha. There is an iron deposit of 50 km range in Odisha’s Bursua mines. In Chhattisgarh, SAIL operates the Rajhara Mechanical, Mahamaya, Dulki, Jharandalli, Dalli Mechanical, Rowghat and Kalwar mines. Besides, the Noamundi, Jharkhand and Odisha group of mines has a massive iron-ore deposit with a depth of more than 100 metres. Meanwhile, the Chiria mines in Jharkhand, the largest known deposit in Asia, contain 2 billion tonnes of high quality iron ore deposits. Cumulatively, SAIL’s reserve and resources (including the Chiria mines) are around 3.6 billion tonnes.
As part of its other mineral segments, SAIL also produces limestone and dolomite for its captive use. Their mines are located in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. However, only two of these groups are currently operational. One is in Kuteshwar, Madhya Pradesh, while the other comprises the Hiri and Nandini mines near the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh. Another historical mine is the Chasnala mine, with good quality coking coal, where very small-scale mining is being done. The coking coal produced and sold from this mine will be critical for the company, helping reduce the high cost of raw materials.
Sustainable mining practices
Sustainability has become a critical focus in the mining sector, with growing concerns over illegal mining as stated in the 2015 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) [MMDR] Act. The Justice M. B. Shah Commission of Inquiry was established by the Government of India to investigate the illegal mining of iron ore and manganese ore, leading to a paradigm shift in mining legislations. Earlier, mining leases were awarded through nominations only, but the MMDR Act has introduced auctions.
In a bid to stay environmentally conscious, SAIL is taking proactive measures. For example, to preserve the local biodiversity, it takes into consideration the entire region surrounding the mining site instead of focusing only on the mining area. Its mines are located in the Saranda forest in Jharkhand, which is a famous forest site for Sal trees in Asia. SAIL also took on the responsibility of preparing an integrated wildlife plan for the entire Singhbhum (East), taking the help of experts, and the CAT Plan for the Saranda Reserve Forest with the help of IIT Kharagpur. The Saranda Reserve Forest region was completely digitalised during these studies.
Further, at the Rowghat mine, biodiversity conservation efforts are being carried out with the help of local communities and various stakeholders in the Bastar region. SAIL is also laying a 95 km railway line from Delhi to Rowghat for ore extraction purposes at a cost of Rs 16.4 billion, of which Rs 15 billion has already been invested. It is the first project in the country where a railway line is being set up for iron ore evacuation. These works are expected to be completed in 2025. SAIL is also planning to integrate up to 300 MW of renewable energy.
“To preserve the local biodiversity, SAIL takes into consideration the entire region surrounding the mining site instead of focusing only on the mining area.”
Technology and safety-based initiatives
Mining practices must take into account the entire life cycle, from planning, exploration and excavation to mine closure. To ensure efficiency, SAIL adheres to Industry 3.0 recommendations in mining technology. All its mines are fully mechanised and make use of state-of-the-art machinery. They have a dedicated railway siding connected to the railway network through which the processed crushed ore is despatched to steel plants. Further, the company uses large capacity heavy earth moving equipment including 100 tonnes of dumper and 10 cubic metre shovels along with digitally connected systems.
Another crucial aspect of mining operations is safety. Safety hazards arise when the environment, strata movement and rock stability are not properly managed. The integration of technology is essential to make working conditions safe, especially when third parties are involved. If execution is not carried out safely and carefully, it puts expensive equipment and lives at risk, jeopardising the entire project. SAIL works with enterprise resource planning platforms to address this. To this end, it leverages drones, LiDAR and other geospatial technologies. In addition, clear responsibilities related to adoption and investment in technologies must be laid out in contracts while hiring mine
developer operators.
Future targets
As the sector gains more government attention over the years, the mineral production targets are also raised. In line with this, SAIL is expected to produce 32.51 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore in 2025. In 2026, it is expected to achieve 15 per cent more than this. It has framed “SAIL Vision 2030” in line with the National Steel Policy, 2017, aiming to produce 50 mt per annum (mtpa) of crude steel by 2030. This will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase for 2030-31, the company targets 37 mtpa of hot metal and 35 mtpa of crude steel. This requires 61 mt of iron ore production (1 tonne of hot metal requires 1.6 mt of iron ore), which will be achieved through the augmentation of existing units, and brownfield and greenfield expansion of ISPs. Of this 61 mt target, 12 mt is planned to be produced from the Rowghat iron ore mine in Bhillai, while 49 mt will come from the Eastern region ISPs.
Furthermore, SAIL is developing the Gua ore mines. It is currently transporting iron ore through railways with a requirement of 25 rakes per day. However, there is still an acute shortage of rakes. By 2030-31, demand is expected to rise to 42 rakes per day. In addition, it is planning to set up a slurry pipeline from mines to steel plants to address challenges related to clearances and permissions for forest areas.
“SAIL has framed ‘SAIL Vision 2030’ in line with the National Steel Policy 2017, aiming to produce 50 mtpa of crude steel by 2030. This will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase for 2030-31, the company targets 37 mtpa of hot metal and 35 mtpa of crude steel.
