A total of 7 working manganese mines and 4 working chromite mines are going to shut operation in next few months. It is estimated to wipe out almost 16 percent manganese ore production and 50 percent chromite production from the domestic market, thus disrupting raw material supply for ferroalloys and steel industry and creating massive unemployment for a long period, Duggal said while speaking at Manganese / Chrome Ores and Ferro Alloys Summit organized by FIMI at Vishakhapatnam.
Such a demand-supply imbalance is bound to adversely affect all existing ore producers as well as ferro-alloy units. Existing supply chain and business linkages are bound to be disrupted, thus affecting competitiveness of the Indian mining as well as ferro-alloy industry, he said.
Industries woes
Ferro alloy industry in India is being squeezed by weak demand, high power costs, cut-throat competition in international market and stagnation in the steel demand and production in the country. Despite having a total production capacity of 5.15 mt per annum (mtpa) in the ferro-alloy industry, the industry has been battling a slowdown in the past 5 years (2013 - 18), with production of ferro-chrome stagnant at 1 mt (mt), ferromanganese at 0.52 mt and ferro-silicon at 0.09 mt.
To facilitate growth in the sector, the Government in its National Steel Policy 2017 has planned to support ferro-alloy plants by ensuring raw material linkages and stable supply of electricity.
There is also significant competition from the global market and the industry must utilize its full potential and rise to new levels of technological competitiveness and productivity. The domestic ferro-alloys industry needs to be promoted through a mix of progressive market development strategies and suitable fiscal measures to offset cheaper imports.
Need for value creation
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Steel's Net Zero mission
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MOIL embarks on expansion projects
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