December 02, 2008

TATA Steel revives titanium project in Tamil Nadu

TATA Steel has signed a MoU with Tamil Nadu government for setting up an INR 2,500 crore titanium dioxide unit in Tamil Nadu. The original pact was signed in 2002 but the project did not take off till now. TATA Steel said that the project, including the construction of a seawater desalination plant and an integrated power generation unit, would be built in stages, but did not give a time frame.

TATA Steel will make titanium dioxide from ilmenite mined from the beach sands of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts in south Tamil Nadu. It will have a capacity to mine 0.5 million tonnes of ilmenite and turn out 100,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide per annum.

Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel said “It is a significant project for TATA Steel in Tamil Nadu. The project will create considerable employment opportunities. The land providers will be given priority in jobs.”

Mr Muthuraman added that “Ilmenite deposits are found on the surface of land at a depth of up to four to five meters. A large area was required for the project since for every 100 tonnes of sand mined for ilmenite, 90 tonnes of sand would be deposited back.”

Titanium dioxide is used as a base for pigments in the paints industry and India is importing about 70,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide every year as there is only one manufacturer as of now.