The plant, being set up at Goodem in Dantewara district of Madhya Pradesh will also generate power during the process and the surplus will be sold to the MP State Electricity Board.

The plant has made a provision to further expand capacity to produce 1.2mt of hot metal per annum. The state government has allotted around 182 hectares of government land for the plant to NMDC and another 188 hectares is in the process of being allotted under phase I.

Romelt technology, developed by the Moscow Institute of Steel & Alloys (Misa) is the latest generation smelting reduction technology for making liquid iron similar to that produced through the blast furnace route. It has been widely acknowledged as the future iron making technology among alternative iron making routes the worldover. The process offers wide flexibility in the use of iron bearing materials ranging from orefines, sludge, mill scale, slimes, blue dust.

Besides, the process uses non-coking coal as fuel and reduntant.

Sensible heat of the outgoing gases from the furnaces can be utilised for generation of power sufficient to meet not only the plant's own requirements but also generate surplus.

The process offers opportunities for processing wastes generated at the iron ore mines and iron & steel works and can be a boon for the mini steel operators.

To market and render design engineering services for plants based on Romelt iron making technology in India, China, South East Asian & Middle East countries and Africa, Romelt SAIL (India) Ltd (RSIL), a joint venture between SAIL and three Russian companies was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act with authorised equity capital of Rs 1 crore. SAIL holds 40 per cent of the equity, and the rest is held by three Russian companies.

According to a source, JindalStrips Ltd (JSL) has signed a contract with RSIL to prepare a feasibility report for setting up a Romelt project for their Raigarh works. Though the report was submitted to Jindal Strips, the source said the project has been dropped for the present due to a funds crunch.

Sources said Thailand is negotiating with RSIL to set up a plant there. If Romelt technology is viable in India, it will make a breakthrough in iron ore mines by using waste generated at the Romelt plant. This will arrest the pollution in the mines sources pointed out.