By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 28, 2017 : Tata Steel’s Rs 542-crore ferro-chrome plant at Gopalpur in south Odisha has began commercial production on Saturday.

“The recently commissioned ferro-chrome plant of Tata Steel at Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district of Odisha, has achieved a major milestone with the first ever production of ferro-chrome on February 25, 2017, in compliance with all technical parameters,” the company said on Tuesday.

The plant has an installed capacity of 55,000 tonne per annum (TPA). Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the plant on November 30 last year.

“This marks the completion of the commissioning of the ferro-chrome plant. It also goes a long way in consolidating our footprint in Odisha and the long-standing partnership with the state towards industrial progress of the region,” said D B Sundara Ramam, Tata Steel Executive-in-Charge, Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division.

It is a unique environment-friendly plant with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment and technology such as ETP (effluent treatment plant) and STP (sewage treatment plant).

It has a 100 per cent water harvesting facility that caters to most of the water requirements of the plant. It has an indigenously built semi-closed hybrid furnace.

Also, it is the first plant in India to use briquetting method of chrome ore fines agglomeration.

Chromite briquettes used for making ferro-chrome have been produced by the briquetting plant at the ferro-chrome plant complex. The briquetting plant had earlier commenced production on January 23.

For the plant, the steel major is sourcing chrome ore from its chromite mine at Sukinda in Jajpur district of Odisha.

Besides the plant at Gopalpur, Tata Steel has two other ferro-chrome plants in Odisha — a 65,000 tpa plant at Bamnipal in Keonjhar district and the other at Athagarh in Cuttack district of 55,000 TPA capacity under the management of its subsidiary T S Alloys.