The Hindu : Business : Tata ferro chrome unit in SA to kick-start soon

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Tuesday, Aug 15, 2006

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Tata ferro chrome unit in SA to kick-start soon

The unit will have 1.2 lakh tonne capacity

KOLKATA: Tata Steel will have the ground breaking ceremony for its Rs. 250 crore-ferro chrome smelter project in South Africa by the third week of August. Tata Steel executive in-charge (Ferro Alloys & Minerals), P. Roy, said here on Monday that possibly August 21 would be the date for the ground breaking ceremony. The project had received land and environmental clearances and construction of the plant was expected to begin soon, he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on Indo-African business opportunity organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Environmental clearance was a major reason for delay in receiving approval for the project. "In the first phase, the capacity of the plant will be 1.2 lakh tonnes. We are targeting commercial production by October-December 2007," Mr. Roy said.

Tata KZN Pty Ltd, a company registered in South Africa and located at Richards Bayin Kwa Zulu Natal province, is promoting the project.

The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and a local partner with minority stakes are jointly developing the ferro chrome project. Tata Steel intended to double the capacity of the plant in phases to 2.4 lakh tonnes.

The company proposed to produce high carbon ferro-chrome with 64 per cent chrome content and supply to stainless steel companies of Western Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and India.

Tata Steel selected Richar Bay for the project because it was one of the largest ports in South Africa and would minimise transport costs. The company had earlier announced expanding ferro chrome capacity of its Bamnipal unit in Orissa. The unit was taken over by Tata Steel from State-owned Orissa Mining Corporation in early 1990s. — PTI

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