India's Iron Pellet Industry to See Phenomenal Growth in Five Years

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Researched by Industrial Information Resources India (Delhi, India)--Iron ore pelletization in India is poised for multi-fold growth as the country seeks to produce 132 million tons of steel by 2016 to cater to the increasing demand for steel in the domestic market. Over the next five years, by 2016-17, India's pellet production capacity is estimated to reach 96.1 million tons per annum, which is nearly double the country's current production capacity of 49.1 million tons per annum.

Faced with stiff margin pressures in iron ore, fines, and higher taxes and transportation costs, Indian steel makers are increasing the production of iron ore pellets to cater to the rising demand in the domestic steel industry for the commodity. Iron ore pelletization is going to be the "next big thing" in the Indian steel industry, as pellets are expected to replace iron ore lumps in the long run.

The following are major pellet projects in progress:

• Beekay Steel Industries Limited's 1.2 million-ton per-annum capacity addition at Keonjhargarh, Orissa
• Deepak Steel and Power Limited's 600,000-ton per-annum capacity addition at Barbil, Orissa
• Hind Energy and Coal Beneficiation India Limited's 600,000-ton per-annum capacity addition at Champa, Chattisgarh
• Pacific Exports Limited 's 1.2 million-ton per-annum capacity addition at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
• Sarda Energy & Minerals Limited's 2.4 million-ton per-annum capacity addition at Mandhar, Chattisgarh
• Scan Steel Limited's 1.2 million-ton per-annum capacity addition at Sambalpur , Orissa
• Vikash Metal and Power Limited's 480,000-ton per-annum capacity addition at Purulia , West Bengal
• Surana Industries Limited's 1.2 million-ton per-annum capacity addition at Raichur, Karnataka

The government of India plans to implement standards for semi-furnished material. The use of pellets in electric arc furnaces will help maintain such standards, which will lead to the continued installation of arc and blast furnaces in years to come. Increased pelletization capacity will help India overcome its dependency on high-grade lumps. Further, as the availability of iron ore lumps for the production of calibrated lumps is declining rapidly, the steel industry will strongly depend on the pelletization industry to meet its feedstock requirement.

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