By PTI

New Delhi: Country’s largest steel maker Steel Authority of India Ltd has undertaken the work for enhancement of loading facilities at Bolani iron ore mines in Orissa with an investment of Rs120 crore.

With expansion of the project, the iron ore loading capacity of the mine would go up to 10 million tonnes per annum from the present level of 3.9 million tonnes, a spokesperson of SAIL’s Raw Material Division (RMD) told PTI.

The enhancement of facilities is in tandem with the proposed increase in production capacity of the mine to 10 million tonnes, he added.

As part of the first phase of the scheme, RMD has begun installation of reclaimer, stacker, conveyors and stacking yard at Bolani. In the second phase it would take up railway track modification and work related to signalling and telecommunication.

State-run SAIL targets over 26 million tonnes of steel production by 2010-11, for which RMD aims at churning out over 30 million tonnes of iron ore.

To meet the enhanced iron ore requirement, RMD has taken up a slew of projects to develop the existing iron ore mines besides improving mining operations and infrastructure.

The long-term projects include expansion of Chiria iron ore mines in Jharkhand and Taldih in Orissa. While Chiria’s capacity would go up to 50 million tonnes in phases, that of Taldih to 4.25 million tonnes along with an additional two- million tonne pellet plant.

The steel major also envisages developing the south block of Kiriburu and central block of Meghataburu iron ore mines in Jharkhand.