Blast furnace operations commenced at NMDC Steel plant

NMDC Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh marks operational readiness with blast furnace commissioning. CMD Amitava Mukherjee & senior mgmt participated. 4,506 cubic meter furnace produces 9,500 tonnes of hot metal/day. Zero-discharge tech used to produce HR coils, sheets, plates. Milestone achieved with collective efforts of NSL, MECON, SAIL, RINL, JSW, JSPL. Furnace designed & built by Tata Projects & tech supplier Danieli Corus BV.

Operations of the blast furnace at NMDC Steel plant in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh commenced on Saturday, marking a crucial step towards the plant’s operational readiness.

Chairman and Managing Director (additional charge) Amitava Mukherjee along with members of the senior management of NMDC and NMDC Steel (NSL), participated in the commissioning, NMDC said in a release on Monday.

The 4,506 cubic meter blast furnace is designed to produce 9,500 tonnes of hot metal (molten metal) per day. HR coils, sheets, plates and hot metal will be produced by the steel plant that will operate on a zero-discharge concept. The facility houses one of the most energy-efficient and environment-friendly technologies to produce steel, Mr. Mukherjee said.

Stating that commissioning of the Maa Danteshwari blast furnace marks a crucial step towards the steel plant’s operational readiness, NMDC said the operations commenced after initial loading of 1,700 tonne coke, 985 tonne sinter, 270 tonne iron ore and 245 tonne fluxes. The iron and steel plant, being built by NMDC, is a 3 million tonne per annum capacity integrated steel plant on 1,800 acres at a sanctioned cost of ₹23,840 crore. NMDC Iron and Steel Plant was demerged from NMDC to NSL in October, 2022.

Mr. Mukherjee appreciated the collective efforts put in by NSL, MECON and the support extended by SAIL, RINL, JSW, JSPL and all stakeholders in achieving the milestone. The furnace has been designed and built by Tata Projects along with technology supplier Danieli Corus BV from The Netherlands.