Article -> Article Details

III. Situation of Iron Ore Raw Materials in India

1. Iron Ore Supply Pattern

According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), although in terms of the proven reserves of mineral resources, India ranks sixth in the world in terms of the total proven reserves of iron ore, coming after Australia, Brazil, Russia, China, and Canada. However, in terms of production, during the fiscal year 2023 - 24, the iron ore output reached a record high of 274 million tons. In the fiscal year 2024 - 25 (from April to January), the iron ore output further increased to 236 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 3.5% compared with 228 million tons in the same period last year. This growth rate shows India's steady growth trend in global mineral production, especially against the backdrop of the increasing demand in the steel industry, where the production of iron ore maintains strong momentum.

2. Current Situation of Iron Ore Production in India

The sources of iron ore production in India are mainly concentrated in the top four provinces. Odisha province has the highest output, with a total output of 110 million tons in the fiscal year 2023, accounting for more than half of the national output. Ranked second is Chhattisgarh province, with an output of 36.98 million tons, accounting for about 18% of the national output. The third is Karnataka province, with an output of 34.54 million tons, accounting for about 17% of the national output. The total output of the top four provinces (Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Jharkhand) accounts for about 96% of the national total.

In terms of mine ownership and scale characteristics, there were a total of 273 operating mines in India in the fiscal year 2023, of which 41 were state - owned and 232 were private. Although there are more private mines, their average scale is relatively small. Moreover, whether private or state - owned, large - scale mines (with an annual output of more than 1 million tons) remain the main source of production in India, accounting for more than 80% of the national total. Looking at the specific data, among state - owned mines, there are 19 mines with an annual output of more than 1 million tons; among private mines, there are 34 mines with an annual output of more than 1 million tons. The annual output of these 53 large - scale mines accounts for 88.68% of the total. In addition, the annual output of iron mines owned by steel mills is 83.01 million tons, accounting for 40.60%; the annual output of other independent mines is 121 million tons, accounting for 59.40%.

The top domestic enterprises in India account for more than half of the country's main output. According to the latest data from SteelMint, there were five enterprises in India with an iron ore output of more than 20 million tons in the fiscal year 2023, and the total output of these five enterprises accounted for about 65% of India's national output. Moreover, some relatively large - scale mines are similar to Chinese mines and are also owned by steel mills, and their output is mainly consumed by the group's own steel mills.

3. Major Iron Ore Miners in India

National Mineral Development Corporation Limited (NMDC) is the largest iron ore producer in India. Its iron ore is mainly mined from the large - scale Bailadila integrated mining area in Chhattisgarh province and the large - scale Donimalai mining area in Karnataka province. In terms of production proportion, NMDC produced 30.77 million tons in the natural year 2021, accounting for 16.3% of India's national output (data from the World Steel Association). NMDC plans to increase its annual iron ore output from 45 million tons in the fiscal year 2024 to 67 million tons in the fiscal year 2025, and finally achieve a production target of 100 million tons by 2030. This increase in production is expected to increase its market share in India's iron ore market from 20% to 25%.

IV. Key Investments in India's Steel Industry

1. Significant Increase in JSW Steel's Production Capacity

In 2024, JSW Steel, a subsidiary of India's JSW Group, witnessed a remarkable expansion of its production capacity. In March, the company commissioned a hot - rolled strip mill with an annual production capacity of 5 million tons, injecting new vitality into the market. In April, the first continuous casting machine was successfully put into operation, with an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons, further enhancing JSW's production capabilities. By the end of May, JSW launched the third - phase capacity expansion plan at its Dolvi steel plant in Maharashtra, aiming to increase the existing crude steel production capacity from 10 million tons per year to 15 million tons per year. This move will undoubtedly significantly boost the company's overall production capacity. At the end of July, JSW commissioned a converter at its Vijayanagar steel plant in Karnataka and planned to start a sintering plant simultaneously to meet the ever - growing market demand.

JSW Steel has been continuously expanding, building new steel plants, starting new blast furnaces, and acquiring new iron mines. The company announced a series of important developments. To further enhance its production capacity, JSW decided to build a new steel plant in Odisha and start a new blast furnace. In addition, to ensure the supply of raw materials, JSW also plans to acquire new iron mines in the region. This series of measures demonstrates JSW's firm steps in continuously expanding its scale and optimizing its industrial chain.

In September 2024, JSW Steel commissioned a new blast furnace with an annual production capacity of up to 5 million tons at its Vijayanagar steel plant in Karnataka to increase the plant's production capacity.

In October 2024, JSW collaborated with South Korea's POSCO Group to jointly plan the establishment of a joint - venture steel plant in India. It is expected that this project will have an annual production capacity of 5 million tons in the initial stage. To ensure the supply of raw materials for blast furnace ironmaking, JSW actively participated in the government's public auction in November and successfully won the Codli iron mine in Goa at a premium rate of 62.6%. The iron mine covers an area of about 377 hectares and has resource reserves of about 48.49 million tons. It mainly produces medium - grade iron fines and lump ore, with iron grades of about 57.86% and 56.24% respectively.

As an important member of the JSW Group in India, JSW Steel is not only one of the largest steel companies in India but also occupies a place in the global steel industry. Its steelmaking production capacity (covering both Indian and overseas businesses) in the fiscal year 2023/24 reached 29.7 million tons, and it plans to continue expanding its scale in the coming years. By the fiscal year 2024/25, the production capacity is expected to increase to 38.2 million tons, and by the fiscal year 2030/31, it is even expected to reach 51.5 million tons. These measures will undoubtedly help JSW achieve its ambitious goal of production capacity growth.

India's Godawari Power and Ispat (GPIL) has obtained permission from the Chhattisgarh government to expand the iron ore pellet plant in Raipur, increasing the production capacity from 2.7 million tons per year to 4.7 million tons per year. This expansion project is expected to officially start in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2026.

2. Blast Furnace Ignition at Tata Steel's Kalinganagar Steel Plant

Tata Steel's steel plant in Kalinganagar has reached an important milestone - its blast furnace was successfully ignited and put into production. This event marks that the steel plant has officially entered a new stage of production, and it is expected to further increase the company's production capacity.
On September 21, 2024, India's Tata Steel's steel plant in Kalinganagar witnessed another major milestone - its No. 2 blast furnace was successfully ignited and put into production. This blast furnace has a volume of 5,873 cubic meters and is designed to produce 4.375 million tons of hot metal per year. This move not only demonstrates the steel plant's firm determination in increasing production capacity but also marks the substantial progress of its expansion project.

The second - phase expansion project of Tata Steel's Kalinganagar steel plant is progressing steadily.
On November 19, 2024, Tata Steel officially launched the second - phase capacity expansion plan at its Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha. The plan aims to increase the annual production capacity of the steel plant from 3 million tons to 8 million tons. At present, this second - phase expansion project is nearing completion and is expected to be officially put into operation in 2025. Looking ahead, Tata Steel also plans to carry out the third - phase development of this plant area to further increase its production capacity to 13 million tons per year.

The total investment in this expansion project is as high as 270 billion rupees (about 3.24 billion US dollars). Statistical data shows that in the past decade, Tata Steel's cumulative investment in the Kalinganagar steel plant has exceeded 1 trillion rupees. In addition, the second - phase expansion project will also cover the construction of key facilities such as pellet plants, coke ovens, and cold - rolling mills.

At present, the Kalinganagar steel plant already has a complete set of production facilities, including a sintering plant with an annual output of 5.75 million tons, a coking plant with an annual output of 1.65 million tons, a blast furnace for ironmaking with an annual output of 3.3 million tons, a converter steelmaking workshop with an annual output of 3 million tons, and a hot - rolled strip mill with an annual output of 3.5 million tons.

3. RINL Restarts No. 3 Blast Furnace

India's Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) reached a cooperation with Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), a steel and power company, and planned to restart its No. 3 blast furnace. This restart is expected to increase the annual production of hot metal by 2 million tons. It is worth mentioning that this blast furnace was suspended from production in January 2021 due to the rising cost of coking coal. According to the agreement, JSPL will provide about 8 - 9 billion rupees (equivalent to 690 - 770 million yuan) of pre - paid operating funds and ensure the continuous supply of raw materials required by No. 3 blast furnace to support its restart and long - term operation.

4. AMNS Plans to Build a New Steel Plant

India's mining company AMNS, located in Andhra Pradesh, announced a major plan: to build a steel plant with an annual production capacity of [missing data] million tons in the region. This move aims to respond to the Indian government's grand blueprint for the development of the steel industry and further promote the increase of domestic crude steel production capacity.

5. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Plans to Build an Integrated Steel Plant

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India plans to invest 1.4 trillion Indian rupees (about 16.6 billion US dollars) in Andhra Pradesh to build an integrated steel plant with an annual production capacity of 17.8 million tons. This project will be implemented in two phases. First, AMNS will invest 800 billion rupees to build a blast furnace with an annual production capacity of 7.3 million tons. At present, the company has started looking for suitable construction land. Subsequently, in the second phase, AMNS plans to invest another 600 billion rupees to further increase the steel plant's production capacity to 17.8 million tons. It is expected that the construction of this project will start in early 2025.
In 2019, ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel jointly completed the acquisition of Essar Steel's Hazira steel plant in India and renamed it ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS). AMNS released its second - quarter performance report in 2024, which revealed the company's ambitious plan to increase its annual production capacity to more than 40 million tons. And the planning and construction of an integrated steel plant with an annual production capacity of 17.8 million tons will undoubtedly inject strong impetus into AMNS to achieve this production capacity growth target.

6. JSPL Plans to Increase Angul Steel Plant's Capacity to 12 Million Tons per Year

JSPL Steel announced that it plans to expand its Angul steel plant in Odisha. It is expected that next year, the annual production capacity of this steel plant will be increased from the current 6 million tons to 12 million tons. Moreover, the company also looks forward to further increasing the production capacity to 25 million tons per year within the next six years. This series of expansion plans demonstrates JSPL's firm determination in increasing production capacity and optimizing the production layout.

7. LME's Capacity Expansion Plan

Lloyd Metal and Energy (LME) has formulated an ambitious capacity expansion plan. They plan to add a direct - reduced iron production equipment with an annual output of 360,000 tons at the Ghugus plant in the Chandrapur area and build two new 30 - megawatt power plants, with the related construction starting in March 2025. In addition, LME plans to build a pellet plant with an annual production capacity of 4 million tons at the Kondsari plant in the Kaddicherla area. This plant is scheduled to be put into operation in March 2025, and the second pellet plant is expected to be put into operation in June 2026. Between September 2028 and March 2029, the company will also put into operation an integrated steel plant equipped with two blast furnaces (with a total annual production capacity of 3 million tons), a converter with an annual production capacity of 3 million tons, and coating equipment required for the production of galvanized hot - rolled coils and cold - rolled coils.

V. Key Factors Driving the Development of India's Steel Industry

The rapid development of India's steel industry is due to the combined effect of multiple driving factors.

1. The strong promotion and policy support of the Indian government are indispensable.
   The Indian government has announced an infrastructure construction plan with an investment of $534 billion in the next two years, which will be used for building roads, railways, ports, and upgrading power and water facilities. This move will have a positive demand - pulling effect on the steel industry and further boost the demand for steel.

2. The rapid economic growth of India provides a broad market space for the steel industry.
   The Indian economy has continued to show a strong growth momentum. The recovery of urban and rural demand, the increase in government consumption, the continuous growth of private investment, and the expansion of service industry exports all provide solid support for the steel industry. This healthy economic growth environment enables the steel industry to develop rapidly and meet the ever - increasing market demand.

3. Technological innovation and sustainable development in India's steel industry are also important factors driving its development.
   Indian steel enterprises are continuously increasing their research and development investment to improve production efficiency, reduce energy consumption and emissions, and achieve a more environmentally friendly and sustainable production mode. At the same time, the Indian steel industry is also actively promoting digital transformation and intelligent upgrading, and using advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to enhance industrial competitiveness.

VI. Challenges Faced by India's Steel Industry

Despite the remarkable achievements of India's steel industry, it still faces some challenges.

1. Import restriction policies have had a certain impact on the operation of small and medium - sized enterprises.
   The steel import restriction policies implemented by the Indian government are originally intended to support domestic production, but inadvertently caused many small enterprises to fall into difficulties. These policies make it difficult for small enterprises to bear the cost of raw materials, and thus it is difficult for them to gain a foothold in the highly competitive market. In addition, the cumbersome customs clearance process and quality control regulations have also increased the complexity of the import process, causing major disruptions to the supply chain.

2. The pressure of environmental protection and sustainable development is increasing.
   As the global emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development continues to increase, India's steel industry is also facing stricter environmental regulations and standards. This requires steel enterprises to increase their investment in environmental protection, improve resource utilization efficiency, and reduce pollutant emissions to achieve a greener and more sustainable production mode.

3. International trade barriers and trade frictions also pose certain challenges to India's steel industry.
   In recent years, India has launched anti - dumping and safeguard measure investigations on steel products from some countries. This may lead to a subsequent decline in India's import demand from these countries. Such trade barriers not only limit the import channels of India's steel industry but may also affect its competitiveness in the domestic market.

VII. Future Development Trends of the Indian Steel Industry

Looking ahead, the Indian steel industry will continue to maintain a strong growth momentum.

1. With the continuous growth of the Indian economy and the continuous advancement of infrastructure construction, the demand for steel will be further released.
   According to the National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP - 2017), India plans to achieve a crude steel production capacity of 300 million tons by the fiscal year 2030/31, and has clearly put forward phased goals for gradually increasing production capacity. The increase in production capacity is calculated every five years: In the first phase (April 2016 - March 2021), the crude steel production capacity increased by 25 million tons; in the second phase (April 2021 - March 2026), it increased by 89 million tons; in the third phase (April 2026 - March 2031), it increased by 64 million tons.
   In addition, the policy also proposes to increase the scrap ratio and promote a reasonable layout of the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process and the electric arc furnace (EAF) process. By the fiscal year 2030/31, the scrap ratio will be increased to 15%, the crude steel production capacity of the blast furnace/BOF process will account for 60% - 65%, and that of the EAF process will account for 35% - 40%. This has laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the steel industry.
   The World Steel Association predicted in its Short - Range Outlook (SRO) released in October 2024 that the demand for steel in India will grow by 8.0% in 2024 and 2025, thanks to the continuous growth of all steel - using industries, especially the continuous strong growth of infrastructure investment.
   Large - scale infrastructure projects promoted by the government, such as "Smart Cities" and "Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana" (Affordable Housing Scheme), have promoted the construction of infrastructure such as residential buildings, roads, and railways, and driven the growth of steel demand in the construction industry. In addition, as the Indian middle class is gradually expanding and the economic level is continuously improving, the development prospect of the Indian automobile industry is optimistic. To a certain extent, this has pushed up the demand for steel in the automobile industry. At the same time, it has also promoted the continuous growth of the demand for large - scale housing and high - end brand developers, especially in the field of high - end housing, where the supply increased by 24% in 2024. In the short term, the demand in the construction industry is expected to be further released.
   Benefiting from the booming economy, the growth rate of the apparent consumption of steel in India is also rapid. Except for the impact of the COVID - 19 pandemic in 2020, in the past 10 years, the apparent consumption of the steel market in India has been increasing, from 87.086 million tons in 2014 to 141 million tons in 2023. The per - capita crude steel consumption is also increasing, from about 67 kilograms per person in 2014 to nearly 99 kilograms per person in 2023. In 2023, the global per - capita apparent consumption of crude steel was 236 kilograms, and there is still a large growth space for India's crude steel consumption.

2. Secondly, technological innovation and digital transformation will become important driving forces for the development of the Indian steel industry.
   Steel enterprises will continuously increase their research and development investment, use advanced technologies and intelligent means to improve production efficiency, reduce costs, and improve product quality and competitiveness. At the same time, the steel industry will also actively promote green and low - carbon development to achieve a more environmentally friendly and sustainable production mode.
   As the scale of the Indian steel industry continues to expand, green and low - carbon development has become a focus of the industry. The Indian government has also set a clear direction for emission reduction targets, planning to reduce the total carbon emissions by 30% - 35% compared with 2005 by 2030. To promote this goal, the Indian steel industry is actively taking green development measures. The "Green Steel" guidelines released in 2024 provide a framework for the green development of the industry, especially for the star - rating classification of the environmental friendliness of steel products. With the increasing demand for green products in both domestic and international markets, the Indian steel industry will make more breakthroughs in environmental protection and sustainability.

3. The Indian steel industry will also actively expand the international market.
   With the recovery of the global economy and the improvement of the trade environment, Indian steel enterprises will actively seek international cooperation and investment opportunities to expand their market share and improve their international competitiveness. At the same time, the Indian steel industry will also strengthen cooperation and exchanges with international steel organizations and standard - setting institutions to promote the formulation and improvement of international trade rules.

VIII. Conclusion

In conclusion, the Indian steel industry has achieved remarkable results in recent years, but it still faces some challenges. In the future, with the continuous growth of the Indian economy, the continuous advancement of infrastructure construction, and the promotion of technological innovation and digital transformation, the Indian steel industry will continue to maintain a strong growth momentum and is expected to occupy a more important position in the global steel market.

Sinosteel Stainless Steel Pipe is the Manufacturer and Supplier of Stainless Steel Pipe and Special Alloy Pipe, Steel pipes with an outer diameter from 8mm to 3600mm, with wall thicknesses from 0.2mm to 120mm. Factory covering an area of 333,000 square meters. Production capacity reaches 200,000 tons.