ArcelorMittal Nippon India Steel (AMNS) has purchased a thermal power plant to provide electricity exclusively for the steelmaker’s facility in Hazira, Gujarat. The company is also looking to acquire an iron ore mine license in Odisha.
The power plant, which has an installed capacity of 5,000MW, will provide electricity to AMNS’ steel mill in Hazira, which has an annual production capacity of 9.6mn mt. AMNS acquired the power plant from Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction, a real estate management company based in India.
In a bid to ramp up its raw material supply chain, AMNS not only acquired a 253 km-long iron ore slurry pipeline, it was a top bidder for a mine in the iron ore-rich state of Odisha. In February, ArcelorMittal India Private Ltd (AMIPL) was selected as the preferred bidder for the state’s Thakurani block iron ore mine.
According to a statement by the company, the mine has estimated reserves of 179.26mn mt. If AMIPL receives the license to develop and operate it, the iron ore mined from the area should strengthen AMNS’ supply chain.
The steelmaker, formerly known as Essar Steel, recently announced plans to increase its pelletization capacity in Paradip by 6mn mt, for which the facility’s expansion is slated for 2021 completion.
The company has accelerated efforts to become self-reliant through such procurements, and plans to significantly grow its Indian production capacity, said Dilip Oomen, chief executive officer of AMNS.