1

Pre-Feasibility Report

for

Upgradation of Wet Iron Ore Grinding

System to Beneficiation Circuit in

existing 1.2 MTPA Iron Ore Pellet Plant.

for

MSPL Limited

“Baldota Bhavan” 117, Maharshi Karve

Road,

Mumbai 400020. Maharashtra.

Ph: (+91) (22) 22030989

2

Pre-Feasibility Report

1.0 INTRODUCTION

MSPL Limited (MSPL) has established a 1.2 MTPA Iron Ore Pellet Plant over 41

Acres, at Survey no. 2, 8, 9, 12 to 15, 132, 136 & part of 5, 6, 7, 16, 17 at Village:

Halavarthi, Tahsil: Koppal, District: Koppal, Karnataka. Government of Karnataka

has issued Environmental Clearance for establishment of pellet plant vide letter no.

FEE 28 ECO 2010 dated: 1/12/2010.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has granted consent for operation,

combined consent order no. KSPCB/SEO/MINES/2010-11/673, Dated: 08.12.2010.

Honourable NGT vide order dated 27.05.2014 directed that such projects require

Prior Environmental Clearance under EIA Notification 2006 from MOEF & CC ,

New Delhi.

With above direction Karnataka State Pollution Control Board had issued a letter

vide PCB/MINI/LIMESTONE/2014-15/3579 Dated 16th Oct 2014 to MSPL Ltd, to

obtain EC from MOEF&CC.

The TOR was prescribed for undertaking detailed EIA-EMP study in addition to generic

TOR vide Letter No. F.N. J-11011/383/2014-IA.II (I) Dated: 8th April 2015.

The EC was accorded to the project by MOEF&CC vide their Letter no No. F.N.

J-11011/383/2014-IA.II (I) Dated: 23rd September 2016.

1.1 PURPOSE OF THIS PRE FEASIBILITY REPORT

The purpose of this Pre Feasibility Report is to help the regulatory authority to

review the proposed modification in the existing pellet plant and its impact on

environment due to the addition of beneficiation circuit. MSPL Limited obtained

two mining leases having low grade Iron ores for captive consumption in the E-

auction from the Govt of karnataka . These mines are allotted for captive use at

MSPL Pellet Plant. As per the procedures laid by Hon'ble Supreme court ICFRE

conduct the inspections and survey and fixed the production capacities to these two

mines based on a) Resources of low grade ores b) Dumps capacity and c) Road

capacity reaching pellet plant. The quality of ore available to the process is in the

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range of 53-54% of Fe while the existing process is meant to be operated at 63%

plus Fe. This Pre Feasibility Report (PFR) accordingly addresses the change in

environmental concerns for Pellet plant (Stand-Alone) of 1.2 MTPA capacity of

M/s MSPL Limited, located at Village: Halavarthi, Tahsil: Koppal, District:

Koppal.

This is to bring your kind notice that neither there will be product mix change nor

there will be change in the quantity of production which remain unchanged at

1.2 MTPA Pellet. Since this proposal is for up-gradation of existing wet process of

IOGS (iron ore grinding system) unit to beneficiate iron ore available in the captive

mines of Karnataka state having 53 to 54 % of Fe to 63% plus Fe suitable to be

process through this pellet plant.

1.2 IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT & PROJECT PROPONENT

1.2.1 The Company

M/s MSPL Limited is a flagship company of the Baldota Group of Companies; a

leading iron ore mining, processing and export company with 53 years of expertise

behind.

In addition to mining, MSPL also own and operate wind farms, with a total

installed capacity of 215.75 MW. The wind farms are situated across Karnataka,

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

MSPL is an ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:1996 and OHSAS 18001:1999 certified

company. MSPL is also the first unit certified, in the Indian mining sector, for

upgrades to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 status, as certified by Bureau

Veritas. MSPL have been honoured with numerous awards, by the Central

Government of India and the State of Karnataka, for outstanding contributions to

the Indian iron ore industry.

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1.2.2 Project Proponent

Name and Address of project proponent:

Name of the Unit M/s MSPL Limited

Regd. OfficeBaldota Bhavan, 117, Maharshi Karve

Road, Mumbai – 400020

Plant Location

Survey no. 2, 8, 9, 12 to 15, 132, 136 &

part of 5, 6, 7, 16, 17. Village:

Halavarthi, Tahsil: Koppal, District:

Koppal.

Contact Person Dr. Meda Venkataiah

E-mail medaoba@yahoo.com

Mobile No. 9900256797

2.0 TYPE OF THE PROJECT

The pelletizing plant of 1.2 MTPA capacity is situated at Halvarti village of the

Koppal district in the State of Karnataka, mainly for utilization of iron ore fines

available from the mines being operated by the Baldota group and other mines in

the Bellary area of Karnataka. The available techniques of pelletizing process

include: grate kiln, travelling grate and shaft furnace. The technique of Grate-kiln

technology is adopted by MSPL Limited for 1.2 million TPA pellet project. The

present proposal is for Upgradation of Wet Iron Ore Grinding System to

Beneficiation Circuit in existing 1.2 MTPA Iron Ore Pellet Plant. This

upgradation will be helpful to utilize low grade Iron Ore Fines from captive mines

and mineral conservation by the existing Pellet Plant.

2.1 CLEARANCES/CONSENTS AVAILABLE

The following Clearances / Consents have been obtained from State

Government/Central Government for the existing Pellet Plant:

5

• Government of Karnataka has issued Environmental Clearance for

Establishment of new Pelletization plant under letter no. FEE 28 ECO 2010

dated: 1/12/2010.

• Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has granted consent for operation,

combined consent order no. combined consent order no.

KSPCB/SEO/MINES/2010-11/673, Dated: 08.12.2010 and existing consent

for operation, order No. AWH-301242 DTD. 20/10/2016 VALID UP TO

30.06.2021.

• MOEF & CC had given Environment Clearance of the project under the

provision of EIA notification 2006. Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate change, vide letter No. F J-11011/383/2014-1A II(I) dated 23rd

September, 2016.

• Mining Plans including Progressive Mine Closure Plan have been approved

for both Captive Iron Ore Mines.

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi accorded

Environmental Clearance to both Captive Iron Ore Mines.

3 NEED FOR UPGRADATION IN THE PROCESS

The running 1.2 million ton per year pellet plant for which Environment

consents/clearances is already available from both the state Government and Union

Government as stated in para – 1.2 operates by using as mined iron ore fines (-10

mm ). After blending, the average Fe content of the fines are maintained

commensurate to an average Fe of minimum 63% in the pellet which is acceptable

by blast furnaces and coal based sponge iron plants. As mentioned before, the

Group has two operating mines – one high grade (+65%) and the other low grade

(56-60%). The compulsion of maintaining the minimum Fe% in the pellet at 63%

severely limits the proportion of the poorer grade captive iron ore in the pellet

plant. Further, In general, the average grade of iron ore available in Karnataka is

lower than those of Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The present process

available at the pellet plant would severely limit use of iron ore fines of Fe % lower

than 58% which are abundant in Karnataka with economic price. So it is intended

to introduce a fine iron ore beneficiation circuit in the process to upgrade fine

6

ore with 53.5% Fe (average) to a fine ore concentrate (325 mesh – P80) with

63.3% Fe. Even though the concentration process will generate tailings and these

are planned to be stored in an eco friendly way, at an adjacent site for future

profitable use. The fine beneficiated concentrate would go to the hoppers of the

green balling plant in the main circuit of the pellet plant. The present equipment

used for dry grinding of the (-) 10 mm iron fines to 325 mesh would not be used

unless fines not needing beneficiation are used at any time. For such fines the wet

grinding can be used bypassing the beneficiation circuit.

4 NEED OF THE PELLET PROJECT

Iron-making technology was established for conversion of iron ore lumps to hot

metal/Direct Reduced Iron (DRI). However, with mechanized mining, production

of iron ore lumps suitable for efficient iron making operation leads to generation of

significant amount of fines (more than 60%) at the mines, which cannot be used

directly in the Blast Furnaces / Corex units/DR Units. Thus the agglomeration

technologies have been developed for processing iron input to the iron making

processes- which are mainly sintering and pelletizing. Blast furnace operators

worldwide are using either sinter or pellets in varying proportions depending on the

availability and cost consideration. It may be noted that while sinter is extensively

used for iron making in blast furnaces, pellets are used not only for blast furnaces

and Corex units iron making but also for production of DRI / HBI in direct

reduction processes.

Utilization of low grade ore and fines has to play an important role in India. Partly

due to the sponge iron sector; the overall percentage of lumps usage in steel making

(47%) is higher than most other countries. As hard ore reserves is depleting day

by day, lump generation suitable for blast furnace operation is coming down

resulting in production of large amount of surplus fines. Alternative iron

making processes for production of steel may lead to changing pattern of use

material inputs and feed stock causing significant shift in respective share of

lumps and agglomerated iron ore (pellets) and will also enable the use of

ores which could not be utilized earlier. As fines form considerable part of iron

ore resources, value addition to the iron ore fines, through various activities such as

Beneficiation, Pelletization is the need of the hour.

7

Presently, most of the coal based sponge iron plants in India, use iron ore lumps.

The requirement is generally 1.6 to 1.8 t/ t of sponge iron. These high requirements

are mainly due to the fines generated in handling the purchased ore from the

sources to the plant. This reduces the kiln campaign length and increases the loss of

ore fines.

Use of pellets with better physical and metallurgical properties for

sponge iron production reduces the accretion formation in the kiln and the

pellets consumption is about 1.6 t/t. Further, the production from the kiln is

expected to increase by 35% to 40%. It is noteworthy that the operations of the iron

ore mines of M/s MSPL Limited at Viom (high grade) and Lyll (Low grade) are in

process. Thus, the iron ore fines so generated, are utilized through pelletizing route

for making mainly coal based sponge iron and sometimes at blast furnaces also..

The use of pellets is however, restricted in the Indian Blast Furnaces mainly due to

high cost of pellets compared to lump ore and captive sinter. But In the face of

shrinking reserves of high-grade ores, low grade ores must now be concentrated

before further processing and used. Pellets form one of the best options, due to

their excellent physical and metallurgical properties. Concentrating iron values in

ore needs grinding to liberate the gangue. Pelletizing is the only agglomeration

process of these beneficiated concentrates. Moreover, due to their high strength

and suitability for storage, pellets can be easily transported over long distances,

with repeated transhipments if necessary.

In view of the encouraging economic growth in the country, which is likely to

continue in the future, M/s MSPL Ltd had taken the decision and set up a pellet

plant.

Secondly, the Hospet-Bellary region in the state of Karnataka is a high potential

zone in terms of Iron and steel and allied industries because of natural resources

like water and raw materials like iron ore, Dolomite etc. The easy availability of

iron ore from nearby mines and water from Tungabhadra reservoir makes it an

attractive area for iron steel industry.

5. The proposed upgradation in the process therefore would bring the following

benefits to the company as well as to the country as a whole.

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• Poorer grade local iron ore fine (with Fe 54-56%) which have a very

restricted use in the Indian/local steel industry will find an outlet leading to

the conservation of iron ore resources in line with our national mineral

policy.

• This would lead to clearing of accumulated low grade fine ore dumps in

nearby mines.

• The company would be able to increase the output of the mine with poor

grade ore and would be able to lengthen the life of the better ore grade mine

by reducing output. This would improve the viability of the pellet

production. The present margin in pellet production from better grade ores is

very thin.

• Even when the company is to buy fine ore from the market in Karnataka,

going for poorer grade fines would give price advantages. Now that demand

of poor grade fine ores from China had dwindled and import of low grade

fine ore is restricted in China.

6. Location:

The Existing operational 1.2 million TPA Iron Ore Pellet Plant is situated at

Survey no. 2, 8, 9, 12 to 15, 132, 136 & part of 5, 6, 7, 16, 17.Village: Halavarthi,

Tahsil: Koppal, District: Koppal, Karntaka. The proposed up-gradation of the

existing Wet process of IOGS (Iron ore grinding system) by introduction of

additional equipments to form beneficiation circuit to the process will be

carried out within the approved boundary of the pellet plant.

7 Project Highlights:

Table 1: Project Highlights

Sr.No.

Particulars Details

1 Project SiteSurvey no. 2, 8, 9, 12 to 15, 132, 136 & part of5, 6, 7, 16, 17.Village: Halavarthi, Tahsil &District: Koppal, Karnataka.

2 Site Co-ordinates

N15o 19’49.9”, E76o12’29.9”N15o 19’35.9”, E76o12’29.5”N15o 19’35.8”, E76o12’12.0”N15o 19’49.4”, E76o12’12.0”

9

3 Topo sheet No. 57 A/3

4 Elevation above MSL 515 m

5 Present Land use Industrial

6 Climatic Conditions

Annual Average Maximum Temp 440C,Annual Average Minimum Temp 100CAnnual Average Rainfall 572 mm,Annual Average Humidity 47-68%

7 Nearest Highway NH -63, 1.8 Km : N

8 Nearest AirportHubli, 120 Km : W (Commercial Airport)Baldoa, MSPL : 4 Km : N ( Private Airport)

9 Nearest Railway Station Ginigerea, 4.5 Km : NE

10 Nearest Village Halavarthi, 0.5 Km : S

11 Nearest Town Koppal, 6 Km.: NW

12 Nearest water bodyTungabhadra River, 4.0 km : SETungabhadra Reservoir 9 km (S,SE)

10

Figure 1: General Location of the Project Site

Source: mapsofindia.com

11

Figure 2: Specific Location of the Project Site

Source: SOI Toposheet

Halavarti

Kunikeri Tanda

Allanagara

Kidadhala

KanakapuraLingadahalli

Hire Bagnali

Hire Kasinkandi

LachankeriChikka Bagnala

TUNGABHADRATUNGABHADRA

Karkihalli

MundrigiMellekeriHyati

Kunikeri

Hosahalli

ChukkanakalliBahadurabanda

Huvinahalu

Hosa kanakpuraBevinal

GingeraBasapur

BelanaluKOPPAL

BhagyanagarYattinahatti

Mangalpur

Haratattanahalu

GbburGuddanahali

Halhalli

Tavargera

Lebigeri

TenakaaakalluChilavadgi

Naregallu

Daddegallu

Sangapura

Hanumanahalli

Katakkanahalli

Muddaballi

HIRE

HALLA

ICH

HALA

HA

LLA

ADDA HALLA

HIRE

HALLA RS

76°15'

15°20'

15°15'

76°15'

76°10'

76°10'15°25'15°25'

STREAMS

RIVER / NALA

POND

ROAD

HABITATION

GRID

PROJECT SITE

INDEX

RAILWAY LINE

15°20'

15°15'

PREPARED BY-POLLUTION AND ECOLOGY CONTROL SERVICES

Village - Halavarthi, Tahsil - Koppal, District -KoppalState - Karnataka

M/s MSPL Ltd.

10 KM. Radius of Project Site

RESERVOIRRESERVOIR

12

Figure 3: The Google Image of the Project Site

Source: Google Earth

8 SIZE / MAGNITUDE OF OPERATION

The existing operational pelletizing plant of 1.2 MTPA capacity is situated at

Village: Halavarthi, Tahsil & District: Koppal, Karnataka. The area of the project is

41 Acres (Total area in possession is 113 Acres).

The Indian steel industry which predominantly uses expensive lump ore is

gradually moving towards usage of sintered ore and pellets. We have forayed into

pellets; with a modest start of 1.2 million tonnes per annum pellet plant. We cater

to the requirements of sponge Iron manufacturers in South India, by providing

customers premium quality pellets which will yield higher metallised Sponge Iron

with reduced production costs.

The present proposal is for Upgradation of Wet Iron Ore Grinding System to

Beneficiation Circuit in existing 1.2 MTPA Iron Ore Pellet Plant. About 2.2 MTPA

Low Grade Iron Ore Fines will be required after commissioning of proposed

Beneficiation Circuit.

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9 Iron Ore Pellet Plant

The Main Plant facilities of the Pellet Plant after up gradation would be as under:

1. Raw Material Yard Existing

2.Dry Grinding units for Bentonite and

CoalExisting

3

Fine ore beneficiation circuit

comprising of:

3AScrubber, primary grinding and spiral

concentrator buildingModification/Addition

3BSecondary, tertiary grinding and

magnetic separation building.

Modification/Addition

3CFiltration building for concentrate &

pellets

Modification/Addition

3D Filter cake storage Modification/Addition

3E Thickeners for concentrate & tails Modification/Addition

3F Tailing Filters Addition

4. Disc Pelletizer Building Existing

5.Travel Grate, Rotary Kiln, Annular

Cooler

Existing

6. Product Screening Room Existing

7. De-dusting System Existing

8. Utilities / Services Existing

The layout of the plant after introduction of fine ore beneficiation is given in the

Drawing No. ENVIRO/MSPL/PELLET/EC/GL/001. The original layout of the

pellet plant is with provision for wet grinding of ore with space earmarked and

provision of the equipment. The proposed modifications have been mostly adjusted

within those space provisions.

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Plant Layout

10. PLANT DESCRIPTION

10.1 Raw Material Yard

Iron ore fines for the pellet plant are received from MSPL’s mines by self-

discharging trucks / dumpers. A stockyard of about 60,000 t capacity is available to

store about 10 day’s requirement of iron ore fines.

10.2 Raw Material Preparation

Iron ore fines are currently wet ground in a ball mill and coal & bentonite is ground

in a vertical roller mill. Both the mills and bins of respective feed materials Iron

ore; Bentonite and Coal are provided in the same building. Ground product is

stored in separate silos of iron ore / bentonite and coat bin. After modification, fine

ore will be beneficiated from 53-54% Fe to over 63% Fe through scrubbing-de-

sliming-primary grinding-spiral concentration-secondary/tertiary grinding and

magnetic separation.

15

10.2.1 Description of the beneficiation process of fine ore.

The iron ore input is iron ore fines (-) 10 mm. The iron ore material is received in

underground feed hopper. Iron ore is conveyed to 2 nos day bins. There is needle

feeder below the day bins, which discharges the material onto another belt

conveyor. This belt conveyor feed the material to one scrubber. Water is mixed

with iron ore and loose clay particles are dislodged and come into slurry. Output of

scrubber goes to a vibrating screen having 1 mm aperture. Screen coarse size

particle are carried to the primary ball mill through a belt conveyor. Undersize

particles from the screen are sent to de-sliming cyclones at 25µm. De-sliming

cyclone underflow is mixed with primary ball mill output and overflow is sent to

tailing thickener. Output from primary ball mill is fed to sizing hydro-cyclone

targeted at 300µm size. The underflow (+300µm) from this cyclone will route back

to ball mill for further grinding and overflow (-3-00µm) will proceed for further

beneficiation steps.

Sizing hydro-cyclone overflow will pass through de-sliming cyclone to prepare

material (30% solids) for spiral circuit. Material with about 30% solids will pass to

spiral circuit, where two products namely concentrate and tails will be generated.

Spiral concentrate will have superior Fe grade of +63% Fe and will go to final

grinding step. Spirals tails will go to a regrinding mill. The product of regrinding

mill will be fed to magnetic separator circuit. Magnetic circuit concentrate will

have +63% Fe grade and will go to final grinding step. Output of final grinding

mill will be sent to the concentrate thickener. Tails generated from magnetic circuit

will be sent to the tailing thickener.

Material from concentrate thickener will be filtered using pressure filter to product

cake with about 8-10% moisture and will be stacked in the designated area for

pellet manufacturing. Tails from tailing thickener will be sent to tailing filter to

produce cake of about 15-17% moisture. These cakes will be stacked in demarcated

open area inside the plant for a short time before shifting to an environmentally

controlled adjoining area for storage for further use. The tentative location of this

storage is shown a drawing ENVIRO/MSPL/PELLET/GL-002. Since the need to

store tails will arise only after commissioning of the beneficiation circuit, EC for

this site for temporary storage of tails will be sought after words. The land is

already in possession of MSPL and proper environment protection for water and air

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pollution will be taken by providing light vegetation cover on the dumps and

providing a green belt around it.

Quantity of waste generated will be about 0.65 million tonnes per annum.

The summary of the features of the fine ore beneficiation process is given in the

Table below:

Sl.No.

Item Value

1 Annual production of concentrate envisaged 14,00,000 t

2 Feed grade % Fe 53-54

3 Feed size(-) 10 mm

F80 6 mm

4 Product size P 80: 325 mesh

5 Product grade % Fe 63 - 63.5%

6 Annual working hours envisaged 7920 (330 days)

7 Annual feed input of fine ore 22,00,000 t

8 Average Fe in input fines envisaged 53.5%

9 Specific gravity 3.88

10 Yield 70%

The flow chart of the iron ore beneficiation process to be adopted by the company

is given in Annexure-1 and also in the next page.

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The Beneficiation of fine ore circuit

18

11 RAW MATERIAL REQUIREMENT

The main raw material for Beneficiation Circuit will be 2.2 MTPA low grade Iron

Ore. In addition to this additional 1380 m3/day water will be required.

The gross annual requirement of various raw materials (including Moisture) of the

plant and their indicative sizes with probable source are given in table below.

Table 2a: Annual requirement of major raw materials for proposed Iron

Ore Fines Beneficiation unit

Sl.No.

Raw material

AnnualRequirement,

Tons

ProbableSource

1 Iron Ore Fines 22,00,000 MSPL Mines

Table 3b: Annual requirement of major raw materials for Existing Pellet

Plant

Sr.No.

Rawmaterial

AnnualRequirement

Tons

Probable Source

1 Iron OreFines

1348600 Mines of MSPL, situated near Hospet,which is about 35 - 40 km away fromthe plant site and any other source inand around Hospet through E- Auction.

2 Coal 53900 Indigenous/ Imported

3 Bentonite 15300 Gujarat

The average chemical composition of raw materials used for production of acid

Pellets are shown in Table below –

Table 4: Chemical Composition of Raw Materials

Α. Iron Ore Fines

Chemical Composition %

Total Fe SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO S P

53-54 12.58 2.78 -- -- 0.006 0.044

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Physical Properties

Grain Size(mm)

Moisture % Density (t/m3) LOI %

< 10 < 10 2.2 --

Iron Ore Transportation

The Iron Ore fines for the pellet plant will be supplied from two captive mines of

MSPL, situated in Sandur Tehsil , Bellary District which are about 70 - 73 km

away from the plant site. These fines shall be transported from mine by tarpaulin

covered trucks. The transportation route map of the iron ore fines from mines to

plant site is attached as Annexure 3.

The specific requirements of raw materials (Dry & Net) kg / t of Pellets is as under

Table 5: Raw Material (dry & net). Kg/t of pellets

Sr.No. MaterialSpecific Consumption

Kg/ t

1 Beneficiated Iron Ore Fines 1023.55

12 WATER REQUIREMENT

In the pellet plant, for pellet making process water is required for process, cooling

of equipment, dust suppression, fire fighting and drinking and sanitary needs the

estimated water requirement is briefly 514.06 m3/day.

However the fine ore beneficiation process will require water to the extent of

difference between the water content of the outgoing filter concentrate cake (about

10%) and tailing cakes (15-18%) and the water intake with the fine ore from the

mine (about 4-6%). To this quantity, the process loss, blow down loss and

evaporation loss of the circulating water need to be added. For the beneficiation

process, the gross make up water requirement will be 0.455X106m3/Year or

1380m3/day.

The total estimated make up requirement of water for the pellet plant with fine ore

beneficiation at rated capacity therefore come to 1894.06 m3/day. (78.9 m3/Hr) The

water is proposed to be made available from the rain water storage at the site and

water from TB dam as per present allocation from Karnataka Government.

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Table 6: Water requirement

Sr.No.

Purpose Qty (m3/day)

1Beneficiationprocess

1380

1 Pelletizing Process 302.11

2 Cooling of pellets 196.61

3 Domestic 15.94

Total1894.06Or 78.9 m3/Hr

In beneficiation most of input water is in the form of retained water with the filter

cakes of the concentrate and tails. This water is totally evaporated finally and no

effluent loss is expected. In the cooling towers, the blow down is about 2-3%. This

water is used for plantation and spraying in the raw material yard to contain dust. .

The water requirement met from surface water resources. The water from

Tungabhadra Dam is pumped to the RCC Filtered water storage tank. The

Tungabhadra Dam Board had sanctioned a total of 2.5 MGD.

13 POWER REQUIREMENT

The power requirement for the proposed Modification and Pellet Plant is 15 MW

and will be met by the Karnataka State Electricity Board sanctioned quota. Power

will be received at 220 kV from Utility (GESCOM) and stepped down to 33 KV

and again to 6.6kV for further distribution. The maximum demand of the total plant

covered under this report is about 15 MW at 0.95 p. f. with an annual energy

consumption of 80 million units.

210kV supply will be stepped down to 33 KV through 1 No. of 63 MVA power

transformer. This is installed in the 220 KV switchyard at MRSS. The control and

Relay panels for the 220 kV bays are installed in the control/switchgear building

adjacent to the switchyard. A 6.6kV switchboard is installed in the switchgear

Room to feed the loads of Ball Mill and stockyard area. The 6.6kV switchboard

will also feed a separate 6.6kV substation to feed the Mixing, Balling, induration

and screening areas. 6.6/0.433kV substations are located at different load centres to

cater to LT loads of the plant Reactive power compensating equipment has been

provided in the 6.6kV buses at MRSS to maintain a power factor of 0.95.

21

Illumination of the plant for the required level of illumination will be as per

industry standards.

14 MANPOWER REQUIREMENT

The present project is providing direct employment to nearly 286 workers. The

local persons have been given preference in employment as per the qualification

and technical competencies. Necessary training has been given to train the

unemployed youths of the nearby villages. Indirect employment opportunities have

been created in the periphery of the project automatically as the project started

operation in the region.

In order to operate and maintain the plant facilities, including its technical

general administration needs, the manpower in the Iron Ore Pelletization Plant is

estimated as 305. The above manpower covers the top management, middle and

junior level executives and other supporting staff including workforce. The

category wise break-up of manpower is indicated in the following table.

Table 7: Category-wise break-up of Manpower

Sr. No Category Man Power Total

Existing Addition

1 Managerial 30 - 30

2 Technical 68 - 68

4 Skilled 129 5 134

5 Semi-skilled 44 10 54

6 Un-skilled 13 3 16

7 Clerical 2 1 3

Total 286 19 305

15 ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT

The pollutants in the form of solids, liquids and fugitive emission will be generated

from operation of Beneficiation Circuit. Pollution of the environment not only

adversely affects all life forms, but also shortens the life of plant and equipment.

This vital aspect, therefore, has been taken into account while planning the plant

and equipment and adequate measures are being taken to limit the emission of

pollutants within the stipulations of statutory norms. Adoption of technology like

22

recovery of dust/ash for re-use as raw material fulfils the twin objectives of

material conservation and pollution control.

15.1 Air pollution

Proper Dust Suppression is proposed in stock yard of Iron Ore Fines, sprinkling on

internal roads, regular check up & maintenance of vehicles, it will be ensured that

all trucks/dumper caring Iron Ore Fines ore covered by Tarpaulin.

A stack of 75 m Height have been provided in Existing Pellet Plant.

The MSPL is getting screened raw material and is stock piled in the premises.

Spraying of water on the stockyard stockpiles controls any fugitive emissions from

this area.

An ESP located near the travelling grate does the process de-dusting of the drying

& induration area.

Plant de-dusting system for all the material transfer points and screens is carried

out by a bag filter system. Dust collected from the bag filters is re-circulated

Pulverised coal is used as fuel for induration of pellets in rotary kiln of Induration

area. Coal is pulverized in vertical roller mill. This mill is located in the same

building of Ball mill for grinding iron ore and bentonite. The mill is connected to

the cyclone, bag filter and an ID fan. Ground coal is collected in a bin below the

bag filter. Product from cyclone is also fed to the ground coal bin. 2 nos of ground

coal bins/hoppers are provided below the ground coal bin.

The dried waste gas will be discharged into the air through the chimney.

15.2 Water pollution

15.2.1 Fine ore beneficiation

The fine ore beneficiation needs process water for making iron ore slurry to be

passed through the various equipments as needed for wet concentration of Fe in the

ore. However most of this water comes back to the circuit from the thickeners and

filters used for making the final concentrate and tailing cake. The major use of the

water is to account for the difference in the water contents of the concentrate (8-

10%) and the tail (15-18%) and the water input with the fine ore (-) 10 mm (4-6%).

Water losses are due to evaporation and other process losses and blow down of the

23

tanks (about 2-3%). The major used water therefore goes with the product and the

tails which eventually gets evaporated in the drier or naturally. The process water

lost is accumulated in a tank and used for irrigation and spraying in the yard. Thus

the Fine ore beneficiation plant would also maintain a zero discharge of water

from the units.

15.3 NOISE POLLUTION

The physical description of sound concerns its loudness as a function of frequency.

Noise in general is sound which is composed of many frequency components of

various loudness distributed over the audible frequency range. Various noise scales

have been introduced to describe, in a single number, the response of an average

human to a complex sound made up of various frequencies at different loudness

levels. The most common and universally accepted scale is the 'A' weighted

network dB (A). The scale has been designed to weigh various components of noise

according to the response of a human ear.

The major sources of noise generation in the pellet plant are from fixed plant

installations and external transport movements.

The common noise generating sources from the fixed installations are screens,

vibrators, conveyors and rotary kiln and the ball mills. Apart from these, another

noise generating source is DG set which will be operated occasionally i.e. used as a

standby source of electricity. However, ID Fans are the major noise-generating

source.

Trucks carrying the raw material into the plant premises and the finished product

from the industry are the main sources of noise pollution.

Various measures to reduce noise pollution include reduction of noise at

source, provision of acoustic lagging for the equipment and suction side

silencers, selection of low noise equipment. In some areas where due to

technological process, it is not feasible to bring down the noise level within

acceptable limits, personnel working in these areas are provided with noise

reduction aid such as ear muffler and also the duration of exposure of the

personnel are limited as per the norms.

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15.4 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

For the overall pellet plant, the pelletizing process practically generates no solid

waste. A very small quantity of coal fines and iron ore fines will be generated and

also dry dust from air pollution control equipment, which will be reused, in the

industrial process. Hence there is no solid waste generation.

The fine ore beneficiation process however will generate tailing to the extent of

about 35% of the input iron ore which would have Fe content 33.4% on an average

in compliance with the latest IBM norm. At rated output of the plant, the annual

generation of such tailing would be 650,000 t. The generated tailings from the tail

slurry filter would be transported to a designated site inside the plant boundary for

a few days till it is moved to a designated dumping yard outside the plant boundary

within MSPL land to the east of the existing plant fencing to be stored for a few

years till these tailings are reused. The proposed dumping site will be

environmentally protected by providing green belt around and individual dumping

stacks will be provided with a light green over growth. Proper garland drain will be

constructed around dumping site to collect rain water / surface water. The

temporary stocking of the tails inside the plant boundary is shown in the plant

layout drawing and the proposed dump site in the adjoining land is shown in the

overall site drawing. A survey map showing the area identified for storing tailings

is enclosed as Annexure 2. We have identified about 12.20 Acres of land for

storing tailing. In addition to this it is also prosed to utilize this tailing for land

filling on adjacent land where ISP is proposed.

The dried domestic sludge generated from sewage treatment plant will be used as

manure for green belt development.

16. GREEN BELT

Adequate green belt is provided all around the pellet plant and inside the plant

premises. Locally available types of trees are planted. The detailed layout of the

plant has been prepared with indicative area of plantation for the whole plant.

The plantation has been done in a phased manner before commencement of

operation of the Pelletizing Plant. The green belt is shown in the plant layout.

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17. A Summary of this report is presented in a tabular form in the next

few pages.

Summary

A Comparison between the present operating process and conditions and

those proposed after introduction of fine ore beneficiation.

Sr.No

Parameter Existing After modification

1 ProcessPellet making withhigh grade(av. 63.5%)fine ore input

Pellet making with lowgrade fine ore (53-54%)input

2 Product

1.2 million tonsPellets for use insponge iron kilns andblast furnaces mostly.

1.2 million tons Pelletsfor use in sponge ironkilns and blast furnacesmostly.

3 Input iron oreOre fine (-) 10 mm1.3486 million tons;Fe 63-65%

Ore fine (-) 10 mm 2.2million tons; Fe 53-54%

4Other process rawmaterials

Unchanged

5 Process steps

• Wet grinding ofore fines andother rawmaterials

• Proportioning• Balling to green

pellets• Heat induration

to hardenedpellets

• Cooling• Despatch

• Wet grinding ofore fines andbeneficiation ofiron content.

• Dry grinding ofother rawmaterials

• Proportioning• Balling to green

pellets• Heat induration

to hardenedpellets

• Cooling• Despatch

6 Area of the plant41 acres out ofavailable 113 acres

41 acres out ofavailable 113 acres.The modification wouldbe limited to theexisting plant site.However, some of theadjoining available landto be utilized to storetailing after passingthrough the filterationfor a few years till theirreuse.

26

Sl.

No.

Parameter Existing After Modification

6Make up water

requirement21.4 m3/Hr 78.9 m3/Hr

7Environment

impact

7.1 Air pollution

The pellet plant usesESP and bag filter tocollect dust from theeffluent gases aswell as from theambient air insidethe plant. Theprocess dust iscollected andrecycled in theprocess.

Spray is used toreduce dust in theyards and junctionhouses.

The same steps willcontinue. No sourceemission from thebeneficiation circuit. Thefugitive emission will bemainly due to handlingand storing of Iron OreFines, transportation ofIron Ore Fines.

Proper Dust Suppressionis proposed in stock yardof Iron Ore Fines,sprinkling on internalroads, regular check up &maintenance of vehicles, itwill be ensured that alltrucks/dumper caring IronOre Fines Ore covered byTarpaulin.

7.2 Water pollution

The existing processuses very littlewater. Zerodischarge of water ispracticed.

Introduction ofbeneficiation will requiremore make up water asexplained above. Most ofthese water will beultimately be evaporatedeither in the atmosphere orat the raw mix driers.Water spilled from theprocesses and tank blowdowns will be collectedand used for spraying inthe yards as well as forplantation. Zero dischargeof water from the plantsite will be maintained.

27

Sl.

No.

Parameter Existing After Modification

7.3Solid waste

generation

In the present processthe entire solid waste iscollected and re-used inthe process. So there ispractically no solidwaste generation.

With beneficiation of

fine low grade ores, a

rejected portion called

tailing will arise which

is approximately 35%

of the overall iron ore

through put. This will

be very low in Fe about

28.2% and mostly of

silica and alumina. The

tailings will be

temporarily stored

within the plant

boundary for drying

and then shifted to an

adjoining site (land

owned by MSPL) for

storage for a few years

till it is used at the

filling work of the

upcoming steel plant in

the site or used by

employing some of the

upcoming technologies

for recovery of silica

and alumina. A survey

map showing the area

identified for storing

tailings is enclosed as

Annexure 2. We have

identified about 12.20

Acres of land for storing

tailing. In addition to this it

is also proposed to utilize

this tailing for land filling

on adjacent land where ISP

is proposed.

28

Sl.

No.

Parameter Existing After Modification

8

Overall advantages

of this proposed

modification

(1) Poorer grade local iron orefine including those owned byMSPL (with Fe 54-56%) whichhave a very restricted use in theIndian/local steel industry willfind an outlet leading to theconservation of iron oreresources in line with ournational mineral policy.

(2) This would lead to clearingof accumulated low grade fineore dumps in nearby mines.

(3) The company would be ableto increase the output of themine with poor grade ore andwould be able to lengthen thelife of the better ore grade mineby reducing output. This wouldimprove the viability of thepellet production. The presentmargin in pellet productionfrom better grade ores is verythin.

(4) Even when the company isto buy fine ore from the marketin Karnataka, going for poorergrade fines would give priceadvantages. Now that demandof poor grade fine ores fromChina had dwindled and importof low grade fine ore isrestricted in China.

(5) In the present highlydepressed price situation of ironore and pellets the modificationwould bring cost reduction ofthe manufactured pelletsthereby providing better marginfor the company.

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Annexure 1

30

ExistingPellet Plant

ProposedTailingStorage Area

Annexure 2

Survey Map showing Tailing Storage Area

31

Annexure 3

Transportation Route Map

MSPL PALLET PLANT

TRANSPORTATION ROUTE

KARADIKOLLA IRONORE MINE

SWAMIMALAI IRONORE MINE

41.00 Km.

27.90 Km.

4.76 Km.

TRANSPORTATION ROUTE FROM MINES TO PLANT