KIOCL on the threshold of a bright future?

By K.N.Ramachandra

MANDYA, NOV. 18. The Kudremukh hills in the Western Ghats have 450 million tonnes of iron ore deposits. The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) is the biggest mining complex in India and produces six million tonnes of iron ore concentrate and three million tonnes of high-grade pellets from low-grade magnetic ore per year. The iron ore concentrate is highly regarded for its low alumina, sulphur, and phosphorus content and high fuel efficiency in sintering due to its exothermic properties. The mined ore is transported in slurry form through a pipeline to the company's pelletisation plant in Mangalore.

The KIOCL's iron ore concentrate and iron oxide pellets conform to international standards, and the KIOCL is a 100 per cent export-oriented unit. It exports its produce to seven countries. The company, as part of its downstream activities, started the manufacture of 1,55,000 tonnes of high grade pig iron per annum in Mangalore, using quality pellets from KIOCL's pelletisation plant which was dedicated to the nation recently. A portion of the pig iron produced is utilised for manufacturing 50,000 tonnes of ductile iron spun pipes (DISPs) annually. The company has a proposal to set up a coke oven plant at Karwar to utilise the coke produced for captive consumption.

The KIOCL authorities say that there has been a spurt in demand for iron ore pellets with rapid expansion of the iron and steel industry in countries around the world. To meet this demand the company plans to install a shaft pelletising furnace to produce 0.5 million tonnes per year, the first of its kind in Asia, in Mangalore.

The KIOCL authorities told THE HINDU that the company had taken up a massive afforestation programme to restore the mined mountainscape to its original splendour. Two rock-filled dams were built to prevent the mine wash from polluting the Bhadra. The 100-m. high Lakhya Dam was built to contain the tailings generated from the plant. The company has sponsored the development of the Kudremukh National Park through the Forest Department. It launched the Sanjeevini Vana to grow valuable medicinal and herbal plants including endangered species.

The KIOCL authorities say that the iron ore deposits at Kudremukh are expected to last for another 10 years. The company has applied for the mining lease for the nearby Nelibeedu deposits. As a measure of a reclamation, the company plans to recover iron ore from the tailings deposited in the Lakhya Dam, as this would be a more economical and environment-friendly alternative to increase the production of iron ore concentrate.

When the KIOCL management became aware that environmental activists were opposing the mining activities of the KIOCL in the Kudremukh National Park (under the National Park Laws) it said that a public interest litigation was pending before the apex court, and the outcome of the PIL was awaited. The authorities said that the Karnataka Government had renotified the mining area. The mining activities were being done unlike in coal mines, and no harm was caused to the environment as the company had taken steps to check pollution. The company had provided crores of rupees for the development of the Kudremukh National Park and "there is no threat to the environment." They said that environmental activists were welcome to visit Kudremukh and to verify the measures taken to check the pollution in the Bhadra, and the afforestation measures taken.

There are conflicting reports on the "mining life" left for the KIOCL. At one stage, it was stated that the mining activity would lost for five years, and this was extended to 10 years and then to 20 years.

The KIOCL is a profit-making mining unit and Government of India enterprise; the Union Environment Ministry is now in favour of giving only a five-year extension to mining while the Union Government has decided to grant a 20-year extension of lease. The Union Minister of State for Steel, Mr. B.K.Tripathi, has requested the State Government to do so.

The fate of the KIOCL now hangs in the balance. While the Union Government says that the KIOCL has an excellent track record of performance and profit in making without causing any harm to environment, environmental activists and noted writers have urged the Chief Minister Mr. S.M.Krishna, not to give licence of mining to the KIOCL as it would affect the environment in the Western Ghats. The KIOCL authorities say that mining activity is confined to 500 hectares only, and Rs. 3,500 crore is needed to set up a mining complex afresh elsewhere, if mining is closed down at Kudremukh.

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