Union Minister of Steel visits KIOCL

BENGALURU: Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh on Tuesday said the KIOCL has done pioneering work in the fields of iron-ore mining and beneficiation of magnetite ore in Karnataka.
The minister visited the KIOCL corporate office and participated in “Rashtriya Ekta Divas” programme on the occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He also flagged off the ‘Run for Unity’ programme.

On the occasion, the minister stressed that Union government is emphasizing thrust on increased utilization of pellets as a raw material in the blast furnaces of integrated steel plants. The pellets are converted out of iron ore fines and beneficiated low grade ore, which are abundantly available in mine heads.

CMD (additional charge) and director (commercial), KIOCL, Subba Rao apprised the Union Minister of the challenges faced by the company on closure of its Kudremukh mines, and said that the state government has allocated an iron ore mine at Devadari, Bellary district to the company. KIOCL is finalizing its long-term plan with substantial capital investment in greenfield projects in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. A presentation was made on the expansion and diversification plan along with plans for Vision 2020-22.