Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste said there is a need for investments in coking coal mining to make the steel industry self-reliant. Iron ore and coking coal are the two critical raw materials required for producing steel through the BF-BOF route (blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace) and while India is self-sufficient in iron ore, it imported 57 million tonnes of coking coal in FY22 to produce 120 MT crude steel, the Minister of State (MoS) for Steel said.
''There is a need for development and investment in coking coal mining and washing technology for resource efficiency, sustainable steel industry and self-reliance,'' a steel ministry statement quoted the minister as saying.
Given the low availability of coking coal, the volume of imports of the same will continue to grow as the country's steel production capacity is targeted to reach 300 million tonnes by 2030-31, he noted.
The country has a resource of about 34 billion tonnes of coking coal, of which about 18 billion tonnes have already been proven. The development of technology for mining and washing can make the country self-reliant besides ushering in huge employment opportunities and accelerating the process of development of urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
According to the statement, Kulaste has directed all stakeholders to take responsibility for developing appropriate technologies for exploiting domestic reserves of coking coal in the country.
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