Scarce iron ore supply from Karnataka led to the crisis Closure not immediate option as it will impact met-coke and power plants
In the wake of recentreports claiming that Sesa Goa planned to shut down operations of its twoplants in Amona, the company told The Goan that they were not planning to shutthe plants but “if it happens, it will be forced.”
Replying to a slew of questions related tothe closure, R Krishnagopal, Vice-President Corporate Communicationsacknowledged that there had been a shortfall in iron ore, the raw material forpig iron. Earlier this year raw materialwas sourced from Karnataka. But in the past year, iron ore became scarce andexpensive. Transport of ore from sources within Goa had stopped.
When asked about the course of action thecompany planned to take if the plant was forced to close down , the officialsaid “The metallurgical coke plant, whose production of met coke is for theconsumption of the pig iron plant, will be forced to curtail operations. Thiswill also affect the power plants at Amona, which operate on the gas from theblast furnaces (of the pig iron plant) and the met coke plant.
With the recent ban on ironore transport,Sesa had experienced an overall drop in production. Production of the pig ironplant reduced from 276 thousand tonnes in 2010-11 to 248 thousand tonnes in2011-12 a decrease of about 10 per cent.
The company is now expecting production tobe affected this year too. Krishnagopal said “In the eventuality of the plantsbeing shut down there will be a delay in the commissioning of the newfurnaces.”
On Wed 25, ND Agarwal Collector South Goaremoved a ban on the transport of iron ore resulting in a gradual improvementin production levels.
