MECON Limited, the project consultant for the steel plant proposed in Kadapa district, is learnt to have submitted its draft feasibility report to the Ministry of Steel (MoS), rating the proposal as workable as far as the availability of iron ore in Anantapur district and its quality are concerned.
But being a draft report, it is subject to a host of clearances from the MoS and other line departments.
The existence of raw material (iron ore) for the proposed steel plant had been identified in Anantapur and Prakasam districts.
GSI survey
According to highly placed sources, the State government has requested the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to make a fresh assessment of the quantity of the ore.
A preliminary study done in the 1980s had pegged at 140 million tonnes (MT).
The GSI has agreed to extend its cooperation in this regard.
The total reserve that can be found is expected to be over 250 million tonnes if a general exploration (G-2), which is the next step after the prospecting of a mine, is done now.
Besides, iron ore of relatively low quality was identified in Prakasam district.
It is estimated to be 100 million tonnes, and its beneficiation is likely to give a net yield of nearly 40 million tonnes.
‘Proper strategy needed’
A senior official told The Hindu that the Central and State governments would have to evolve a proper strategy to ensure the iron ore allocation was smooth if it was decided to take up the project on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis rather than set it up as a public sector unit.
Then, a whole lot of other factors like the all-important demand and supply chain have to be examined if the 3 MTPA is to be established and sustained in the long run. The public sector behemoth Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) had been mandated under the A.P. Reorganisation Act to examine within six months of the appointed day (June 2, 2014) the feasibility of establishing an integrated steel plant in Kadapa district.