METALLURGICAL INDUSTRIES: IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY

METALLURGICAL INDUSTRIES

IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY World The iron and ste industry provides the bas\e for all other industries an hence, it is called a basic industry. Some of the importa iron and steel producing areas of the world are: the Gre Lakes region and the At\antic coast in the USA; tI northern, north-eastern and central parts of England; Franc Belgium, Loraine-Luxembourg-Saar and Ruhr in Westei Europe; Ukraine; the Ural region of Russia; and tI Chhotanagpur region in India. The UK, the US, German Russia. France, Italy, India and China are major produce of iron and steel.

India The first unit, which was able to produce pig in successfully, in India came up at Kulti in 1874 and w, named the Bengal Iron Work Company. Another pIa came up at Sakchi (now Jamshedpur) in 1907, set up 1 the Tatas and called the Tata Iron and Steel Compar (TISCO). In 1919, the Indian Iron and Steel Compar (IISCO) plant was set up at Burnpur. In 1923, another pIa came up, called the Mysore Steel Works (later named tI Visveshwaraiya Iron and Steel Limited-VISL).

The location of iron and steel industry in India has beE primarily influenced by considerations of transportation costs in procuring raw materials such as iron ore, coal ar limestone. The country's richest iron ore deposits lie in tl iron belt extending from Gurumahisani Hills in tl Mayurbhanj region in Orissa to Singhbhum district.1 Jharkhand. In Singhbhum district alone, it is estimated th there are 1,000 million tonnes of high grade iron ore. Co is another important raw material for the iron and ste industry. Raniganj (West Bengal) and Jharia Gharkhan( have abundance of good quality coal. The best coking co, of Giridih and Jharia containing low phosphorus conte] is suited for manufacture of high grade steel.

Besides these two vital raw materials, West Bengal an Jharkhand states are also rich in a large number of flt materials needed for purifying the molten metal, such, limestone (Ranchi hills); silica (jabalpur and Dhanbad); dolomite (Madhya Pradesh, including Chhattisgarh); quartz in Kharagpur hills (in Monghyr, Bihar); and vanadium (Mayurbhanj).

Hence, because of the easy and cheap availability of the above raw materials, the iron and steel industry is located mainly in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Of the seven major steel plants, six are located in these states, and only one in South India (Kamataka).

The TISCO plant at Jamshedpur can be said to be the oldest in the country. It is based on the haematite iron ores from the Gurumahisani mines in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa and from the Noamundi mines in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Coal is derived from Jharia mines in Jharkhand. Manganese for the TISCO plant comes from Joda in Kendujhar (Orissa); limestone, dolomite and fireclay
from Sundergarh (Orissa); water from Subamarekha and Kharkai rivers. Labour force for the plant comes from Bihar' and Orissa.
The IISCO plant has three units at Hirapur, Kulti and Bumpur, which were combined and nationalised during 1972. Hirapur produces pig iron which is sent to Kulti for making steel. Bumpur has a steel rolling mill. The iron ore for the plant is obtained from Gua mines, coal from Jharia and power is supplied by the Damodar Valley Corporation. Manganese comes from Madhya Pradesh, and quartz from Kharagpur hills near Monghyr in Bihar. Limestone is obtained from Paraghat and Baraduar on the Eastem Railway.

The VISL plant is located at Bhadravati in Shimoga district of Kamataka which lies in the mineral rich forest belt of western Karnataka. The plant is situated on River Bhadra. The plant produces high quality chrome steel. Iron ore for the plant is obtained from Kemangundi in the Bababudan hills in Chikmaglur district. Earlier, charcoal from forest wood was used because no coal was available, but now power is available from the Bhadravati Hydel Power Project. Limestone for flux is obtained from the Bandigudda deposits. Manganese comes from Shimoga and Chitradurga.

The discovery of coking coal in Korba in Chhattisgarh was the principal event that encouraged the government to set up a steel plant at Bhilai in Durg district of Chhattisgarh which is an economically backward region. The plant was set up with Soviet help and it started operating in 1959. The supply of iron ore for the plant comes from the Dalli- Rajhra ranges of Durg district itself. Coal comes from Korba, Kargali and Jharia. Power is supplied by the Korba Thermal Power Station. Manganese comes from the Bhandra and Balaghat mines, and limestone from Nandini mines. The Bhilai Steel Plant lies on the Mumbai-Nagpur-Kolkata rail line which links the plant to the major markets.

The plant at Rourkela also started operating in 1959.

It was set up in Sundergarh district of Orissa with German help. Iron ore for the plant comes from Sundergarh and Kendujhar; coal comes from Jharia Gharkhand) and Talcher (Orissa); power is supplied by the Hirakud project; man­ganese comes from Baramajda; dolomite from Baradwar and limestone from Purnapani. The Rourkela plant is the only one in India where steel is produced by L. D.

Conversion Process. It is situated on Kolkata-Nagpur­Mumbai line, and thus linked to major markets.The plant at Durgapur, in Bardhman district of West Bengal, started operating in 1962. It was set up with help from the United Kingdom. The alloy steel plant at Durgapur produces ingot steel. Iron ore for the Durgapur steel plant comes from Bolani mines in Kendujhar; coal from Jharia, and power is supplied by the Damodar Valley Corporation(DVC). Limestone comes from Sundergarh (Orissa) and manganese from Kendujhar (Orissa). Durgapur steel plant is situated on the Kolkata-Asansol rail line. This way, it is connected with Kolkata port and the major markets.

The Bokaro steel plant is situated in Bihar at the confluence of Bokaro and Damodar rivers. It was estab­lished during the Third Plan, but started operating in 1972. It was set up with Soviet help. Iron ore for the plant comes from Kiriburu in Kendujhar district of Orissa and partly from Salem, Mangalore and Ratnagiri by sea route. Coal comes from Jharia and power is supplied by DVe. Lime­stone supplies are drawn from Bhavantpur and Daltonganj in the Palamau district, and dolomite from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. The location of the steel plant is favourable, as it is nearest to the industrial region of southern Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi, Kanpur, Ferozabad, Mugalserai) and also has access to Delhi and Amritsar.

The plant at Salem in Tamil Nadu was planned during the Fourth Plan, but it could come into operation only in 1982. Earlier, due to lack of suitable raw materials in the area for making iron by the conventional blast furnace process, the proposal for a steel plant could not get materialised. Salem area is rich in iron ore and this iron Qre undergoes benefication to a higher grade concentrate, agglomerated and then smelted in electric furnace. The Salem plant produces stainless steel.

The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which came into op­eration in 1992, is the first plant in the shore region. It is also the most sophisticated modem integrated steel plant in the country. A number of modern technological features have been incorporated in the. plant. Being located at a port site, the plant has the flexibility to opt for imported coking coal thereby relieving the pressure on Indian coal mines. Also, its products can be easily exported. Visakhapatnam is well connected with the coalfields of Damodar Valley. The iron ore deposits are obtained from Bailadila in Madhya Pradesh. Fluxes like limestone, refractories and ferroalloys can be obtained from the adjacent areas.

The Vijaynagar steel plant has been set up at Tornagal near Hospet in Bellary district of Karnataka. The plant obtains coking coal and blendable coal from the coalfields nearer to Hospet at Kanhan valley in Madhya Pradesh and Sringareni in Andhra Pradesh. Iron ore is available in plenty from mines in Kamataka, while good quality limestone and dolomite is available nearby.

The first integrated steel plant in north India is expected to go into production at Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh. It is being set up by Malvika Steel, a subsidiary of Usha (India). Designed in collaboration with China Metallurgical Import and Export Corporation (CMIEC), the plant will have a mix of 5.75 lakh tonnes of long products and 57,000 tonnes of foundry-grade pig iron per year when fully commissioned.