BHUBANESWAR: The government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs Brahmani River Pellet Limited (BRPL) for setting up a 4 million tonne per annum capacity (MTPA) Iron Ore Pelletisation Complex.

The pellet plant would be set up in Jajpur and Keonjhar districts of the State with an investment of Rs.1,485 crores. The facilities would be made operational in four years time.

The MoU was signed by Managing Director of BRPL K.V. Rao and Secretary, Steel and Mines Department, L.N. Gupta, in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, State Steel and Mines Minister Padmanabha Behera and Chairman, Stemcor Group of UK, Oppenheimer. The UK group has promoted BPRL.

Power requirement

The project comprises a 4 MTPA iron ore beneficiation plant at Tonto, Nalda and Barbil Tehsil in Keonjhar district, a 4 MTPA iron ore pelletisation plant at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex in Jajpur and laying of 200-km pipeline from Barbil to Kalinga Nagar to carry beneficiated iron ore in slurry form.

The plant will require 18.5 MW of power each at Barbil and Kalinga Nagar.

The requirement of water for the plant has been quantified at 480 CUM per hour, which will be drawn from the Baitarani at a suitable location in Keonjhar district.

The plant will convert the low-grade ultra fines generated by iron ore mines in the Barbil region into value-added pellets to be used by the steel plants in Orissa.

`First of its kind'

Mr. Oppenheimer said that Stemcor would leverage its expertise in international steel trade, pellet making and slurry transportation to set up the state-of-the-art facility for BRPL.

In his brief address, the Chief Minister said that the proposed plant for value addition to iron ore fines was the first of its kind in the State. Mr. Patnaik said that the project would help improve availability of raw material for steel plants and generate employment for 350 persons, both direct and indirect.

The project would contribute Rs. 450 crores, approximately, towards taxes and duties to the State and Central exchequer, he added.

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