Joda, Nov 24: Tata Steel’s Ores, Mines & Quarries (OMQ) Division has set up an 8 MnTPA crushing and washing plant at its Khondbond Iron and Manganese Mine (KIMM) near Joda in Keonjhar.KIMM is a captive mine of Tata Steel, operated by OMQ Division.

The facility was inaugurated today by T V Narendran, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel. Speaking on the occasion, T V Narendran emphasised upon the need to focus more on resource efficiency, productivity and technology with the requirement of raw materials growing in line with the growth of the Company. He congratulated the OMQ Division and the Engineering & Projects team for achieving this great milestone.

The iron ore processing plant will cater to the rapidly growing raw material requirements of Tata Steel and will provide raw material security. In line with the Company’s core objective of building sustainable mining and manufacturing processes, the state-of-the-art facility incorporates latest technology for ore processing, enabling efficient resource usage and reduced wastage.

 The plant design includes three stage crushing and screening. To reduce the inherent alumina from the ore, two rotary drum scrubbers have been installed which can reduce the alumina of the incoming ore, thereby improving the ore quality.

The slurry from the scrubbing screens is processed through hydro-cyclone clusters, maximising ore recovery and reducing wastage. The overflow from the hydro-cyclone is fed to a high rate settling thickener which facilitates recovery of process water from the slime. To further minimise wastage of water, the water recovered from the thickener is recycled back in the plant for recirculation, minimising the requirement of makeup water for plant operation.

In-plant rainwater harvesting reservoir has also been created to store and reuse the rainwater runoff from the hill slopes for dust suppression, plant operations & ground water charging in and around Khondbond. A paste thickener facility is also being set-up within the premises for further improving the recovery of water. The plant is equipped with dry fog dust suppression system and water sprinklers for controlling fugitive dust emissions within the product stockpiles.