Kerala Minerals to expand capacity

Lines up Rs 830cr; ropes in Finnish major Outokumpu Technology Ltd

State-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) has lined up a Rs 830-crore capacity expansion plan targeting an annual capacity of one lakh-plus tonnes in three years.

As part of this, the company has roped in Finnish technology major Outokumpu Technology Ltd (OTL) for constructing its proposed 1.3 lakh tonne capacity synthetic rutile plant, KMML sources told Business Standard.

The plant will be built and commissioned on a turnkey basis by OTL and the Finnish major will also provide performance guarantee for the plant.

Adding that the Finnish firm's technology to be used in the construction and operation of the state-of-the-art plant would be pollution-free, company sources said that to ensure the necessary mineral sand requirements for the plant, an Australian company would be roped in for the supply of mineral sand mining equipment.

"KMML will ink a deal with an Australian company in this regard. The Australian firm will be granted a Rs 120-crore contract for supply and installation of mining equipment," an official said. KMML has also lined up plans to raise its pigment production capacity to 60,000 tonnes by next October.

Meanwhile, the 500-metric tonne titanium sponge plant, to be set up at Chavara under the direct supervision of KMML, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), is expected to be ready in two years. Titanium sponge is an essential component in space exploration and aeronautical activities.

It may be recalled that an agreement to this effect was entered into between VSSC and KMML in January this year.

According to an official, "the total cost of this project would depend on the economics of the scale of operation. This could range between Rs 200 crore and Rs 1,000 crore."

Isro has already pumped in Rs 95 crore into this project.