NMDC Ltd has commissioned a Rs 5,427-crore integrated iron ore processing, slurry pipeline and pellet-making project in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, creating a dedicated link between its Bacheli mining operations and its steel plant at Nagarnar.
The project includes an iron ore processing plant at Bacheli, a 15 million tonne per annum (MTPA) slurry pipeline and a 2 MTPA pellet plant at Nagarnar. The 135-km pipeline will transport processed iron ore concentrate from NMDC’s Bailadila operations to the Nagarnar facility, the state-run miner said in a press communique.
The new system is intended to provide an alternative to road movement and reduce NMDC’s dependence on rail evacuation for moving material between the mining and steelmaking facilities. The pipeline passes through 61 villages in Bastar and Dantewada districts, linking the Bacheli mines with the Nagarnar plant through a dedicated transport corridor.
The processing facilities will allow NMDC to treat iron ore fines and slimes generated at its Bailadila operations. These materials will be converted into concentrate and then into pellets for use in steelmaking. The pellet plant uses Straight Grate Induration technology.
The commissioning expands NMDC’s operations beyond mining and beneficiation to include slurry transportation and pellet production. It also adds a value-added product to the company’s portfolio while enabling greater use of lower-grade material and iron ore fines and slimes generated during mining operations.
NMDC chairman and managing director Amitava Mukherjee described the commissioning as a significant milestone for the company. “This has not been an easy project to execute. It involved processing facilities, the actual slurry pipeline and the pellet plant,” Mukherjee said.
The project forms part of NMDC’s long-term plan to raise its iron ore production capacity to 100 million tonnes and improve the utilisation of lower-grade material. Its immediate infrastructure significance lies in integrating extraction, processing, transport and pellet production between Bacheli and Nagarnar rather than relying solely on separate road and rail evacuation arrangements.
The newly commissioned facilities therefore establish a continuous material-handling chain from NMDC’s Bailadila mining operations to its Nagarnar steel plant. The company has not stated in the supplied announcement whether the full 15 MTPA pipeline capacity will be operational immediately or provided a phased utilisation schedule.
